


A Grain of Truth

by lennoxmacduffes



Series: Pacifica's Last Wish [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Romance, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 11:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10830063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lennoxmacduffes/pseuds/lennoxmacduffes
Summary: First part of Pacifica's Last Wish.Set two weeks after Not What He Seems. Dipper felt great disappointment when the Author locked himself in the basement. He decided to go monster hunting and find the answers himself. Pacifica is puzzled for her recent behavior after the Northwest party and seeks answers in the Shack.





	1. A Most Unexpected Duo

Dipper woke up from a dream he could not remember. He stretched in bed and rubbed his eyes. By the light coming through the triangular attic window, he guessed it should be close to noon, which meant that he had overslept. A quick glance at Mabel's bed told him that his twin had, as usual, woken up earlier than him. Dipper sighed and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind drift to the past few days.

It had been a couple of stressful weeks for him. The town was slowly returning to normality after the chaos the portal had occasioned. Most the buildings that had suffered damages were already almost repaired, just like the Shack. However, that wasn't what worried Dipper. What worried him was the Author of the Journals. Dipper had mixed thoughts about having been finally able to meet him. Where he had been hoping to have his couple million questions about Gravity Falls answered in a one-two hours session, all he got was a fight between both his Grunkles, which lead to one of them locking himself in the basement. Dipper had tried a couple of times to sneak into the basement, but Ford would not allow it. All the Author did was coming out once a day to grab some food and then get back behind the vending machine. Dipper couldn't help but feel very disappointed at that.

Moreover, he also had to deal with what had happened between Mabel and him. Dipper had been at first surprised that Mabel had trusted Stan over him. He had been angry due to the possible catastrophic outcome that the portal could have caused, and therefore he felt completely disappointed. All the evidence they had gathered through that afternoon said Stan was lying to them and despite that, Mabel trusted him over her own brother. Now that it had passed a few days and he saw everything in perspective, Dipper knew he would have done exactly the same if Mabel had been the one trapped behind the portal, but he couldn't help thinking that maybe that small mistrust was the beginning of the inevitable rift that would separate them once they were older. Dipper knew that his sister and he, even though they had a great sibling relationship, they were also very different and would probably have different futures. He had hoped that this rift wouldn't appear so soon.

With all those depressing thoughts coming to his mind, it wasn't hard for anyone looking at the twelve year old boy to notice how bad he felt, and Stan saw it clearly. The old man felt partially responsible for the situation his lack of trust had caused, so two days ago he went into the basement to take Journal #2 and give it to Dipper. He guessed that his brother wouldn't need it anyway, since at the moment he was wrecking the portal with a sledgehammer, and he knew that some mystery solving would at least distract the boy. When Dipper held the new Journal in his hands, his face lit up so much that Stan knew he had done the right thing.

His curiosity and desire for adventure kept his mind busy. For the last two days Dipper did nothing but read, take notes and decipher Journal #2. Finally, the previous night Dipper had found something that caught his attention over the rest. He decided to organize a monster hunt, and he would have called Mabel that very moment, but she was peacefully asleep. It was two in the morning after all. Dipper concluded in telling her the next morning, and now that he had woken up and Mabel wasn't in her bed, it didn't take him long to stand up and get dressed for the day.

"This is weird." Dipper thought aloud while putting on his shoes.

When it was Mabel the one that woke up before him, and that usually was the case due to her energetic personality, she didn't doubt on waking him up by jumping on his bed repeatedly while yelling him good morning at the top of her lungs. Dipper shrugged, assuming she would be having breakfast. He went downstairs nose deep into Journal #2. He couldn't remember which page was the one he was checking yesterday night, but he was sure it should be in the bestiary section of the book. Dipper was so immersed in his read that he failed to notice that Mabel was coming out of the kitchen the same moment he was walking in.

"Ow!" Both twins grunted as they bumped their foreheads together.

"Watch where you are going bro-bro, my head is not as thick as yours." Mabel joked and rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry, I didn't see you coming out." Dipper apologized and rubbed his forehead too.

"Of course you didn't. You were too focused on this." Mabel smiled slyly and tilted the Journal to see what he was reading. "How's your read?"

"Great! I actually found something I want to show you!" Dipper exclaimed with the usual excitement he displayed whenever something paranormal was involved. "They steal dreams from people!"

"Sounds weird." Mabel grinned at seeing her brother finally smiling for the first time in two weeks. "Tell me about it while we have breakfast."

The cheerful brunette eagerly pulled her brother into the kitchen and they sat in the table. Dipper realized they had pancakes for breakfast, so he began the usual procedure in this case. If Mabel raised the fork to her mouth and ate them, that meant she had cooked them herself. If Mabel instead went to a cupboard and took some cookies, that meant these were Stancakes rather than pancakes and it was better to avoid eating them.

Mabel grabbed the syrup, poured some on her pancakes and began to eat one of them, so Dipper guessed those weren't Stancakes and he began eating his too. Dipper took the other syrup bottle and poured just a little on his breakfast. He stared with an amused smile at how Mabel poured more and more syrup on hers to the point it should rather be called syrup with pancakes instead.

"Hey, Mabel, why didn't you wake me up this morning?" Dipper asked and his sister tilted her head in confusion. "Not that I'm complaining at the few hours more of sleep, but I kind of missed the _'Hey Dipper! Wake up! Wake-up-wake-up-wake-up!'_ " He did his best imitation of his twin's chirpy voice.

Mabel giggled and then began tapping her chin.

"Why didn't I wake you up…? Oh, I forgot to tell you! I had a phone call!" She rolled up what was left of her pancakes and ate them up.

"You'll choke one of these days if you keep eating like that." Dipper giggled as he finished eating his own. He was flipping pages on the Journal with his free hand, trying to find the correct page in the bestiary section.

"I'm having lunch at Grenda's today!" She chirped happily and Dipper's smile fell from his face.

"So… are you going to stay the whole day at Grenda's?" He asked warily.

"Probably, I don't know. You know how Grenda is." She shrugged. "I'm leaving in an hour." Mabel stood up and both of them walked to the gift shop.

Dipper sighed and followed her.

"I would’ve liked to go for a monster hunt together… Look!" He showed her the page of the Journal. "See? They make nests in the mountains and store valuables from villages nearby!"

"Like crows?" Mabel raised her eyebrow and stared at the drawing.

"Sort of… but bigger. And definitely more territorial."

"I'm sorry Dipper, I already promised to Grenda." Mabel gave him a lopsided smile. "But we could go tomorrow!" She tried to cheer him.

"I thought you were going to see that Pony Heist movie tomorrow."

"Oh, I forgot..." Mabel facepalmed inwardly and saw how Dipper lowered his gaze.

"It's okay. I can go alone." He sighed and closed the Journal.

That was the last thing Mabel wanted. The cheerful brunette had seen the drawing of the creature and she didn't want her brother going alone into that kind of adventure. She began pacing around the gift shop, trying to find a proper excuse to dissuade him, until she saw something, or rather someone, through the window.

"Don't worry, bro-bro! You're not gonna go alone into that monster hunting thingy! I just found you a replacement!" She said with a grin, pointing outside with her finger.

"Huh?"

Dipper raised an eyebrow in puzzlement and had a look through the glass. He was expecting someone like Soos, or maybe Wendy. However, at the front yard of the Shack there was a blonde girl walking towards the door. She wore a purple short dress with a dark purple jacket and a decorative belt, black leggings, ugg boots and silver hoop earrings.

"Pacifica? What's she doing here?"

"Maybe she wants to go monster hunting with you!" Mabel guessed cheerfully.

"Don't be silly, Mabel." Dipper snickered. "She's not the _'monster hunting'_ type of girl."

"Oh, I didn't know you needed a diploma for that." Mabel countered with a playful smile. "Besides, you told me she handled the ghost very well at the party and..." she nudged him playfully with her elbow. "…I thought you liked her."

"Well, I uh…" Dipper felt his cheeks burning and knew that he was probably blushing. "Yeah, she's okay. But breaking a curse isn't the same than going monster hunting. I'm telling you, Mabel. Waddles will fly before Pacifica wants to come into an adventure with me."

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Mabel giggled and opened the door to rush outside right before Pacifica managed to knock on the door. "Hi, Pacifica! Whatcha doing here?"

The heiress was taken slightly aback by the sudden appearance but gathered herself quickly.

"Hey, Mabel." She noticed Dipper peeking at her over his sister's shoulder. "Hi Dipper. So… I was in the neighborhood and I thought we could hangout or whatever you poor people do." She shrugged with indifference and stared at her fingernails.

"Sure thing! In fact, you just came in the nick of time!" Mabel bounced happily and Pacifica couldn't help but smile at her silliness. "Come inside!" She grabbed the sleeve of her jacket and puller her inside the house.

Pacifica yelped in surprise and was practically dragged all the way to the living room. She quickly took a survey of the room, eyeing with a frown the breadcrumbs on the rug in front of the recliner, and then realizing that there was only one spot to sit before the TV.

"You watch TV here?"

"Yup. Grunkle Stan sits on the armchair and Dipper and I lie on the floor." Mabel beamed, enjoying the chance of showing the house to a stranger and, in her eyes, potential friend. On the other hand, Pacifica grimaced at the mention of lying on that floor.

"So… Pacifica," Dipper got her attention. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Whatever you guys do. I was just hoping to spend some time here." She shrugged.

"Dipper is going on a monster hunt to the woods! Wanna go with him?" Mabel asked with a broad smile.

"Yes!" Pacifica chirped and then gathered herself, clearing her throat. "I mean… Sure, it could be fun."

Mabel giggled and gave a knowing look to her brother, who sighed and wondered how Mabel knew beforehand what was going to happen.

"Keep in mind that we are going monster hunting." Dipper added in a serious tone. "This won't be as easy as pulling down a lever."

Pacifica raised an eyebrow and rested her fists on her waist.

"I can take care of myself, you know? Besides, last time I checked you were the one turned into wood while I was saving the day." She gave him a smug smile.

"Haha! Zing!" Mabel laughed and supported the heiress.

Dipper crossed his arms over his chest and gave them a mild glare.

"I know. I just want to make sure that, if something goes wrong, we won't begin bickering because a carpet silver pattern." It was his turn to display the smug smile. "I'm the expert in the paranormal, so if you're coming with me, you'll do as I say. You'll step where I step, you won't touch anything, you'll…"

As Dipper kept listing, Pacifica leaned closer to Mabel and whispered.

"Does he think I'm dumb or something?"

"Nah.” Mabel snorted. “My brother is always like that at first. He'll be all bossy like _'Mabel, don't pick up that mushroom, Mabel, don't eat that sparkling mold…'_ " She rolled her eyes. "But then he relaxes and he's pretty fun. By the way, don't eat the sparkling mold. My teeth glowed in the dark for a week."

Pacifica giggled and then realized Dipper was about to finish.

"…and if I say run, you leave absolutely everything behind and run as fast as you can back to the Shack, got it?"

"Um… Yeah, yeah. Sure, you're the expert." Pacifica shrugged. "So… when are we heading out?"

"Let me get a few things upstairs and we can leave." Dipper left the two girls alone and went upstairs.

Once the boy left, Pacifica sighed in relief and began displaying a few ticks of nervousness, such as rubbing her nails on her dress to clean them slightly.

Mabel nudged her playfully and tried to cheer her.

"Are you nervous?" She asked and Pacifica nodded hesitantly. "Don't worry, I've gone with Dipper into plenty of monster hunts and we did fine! Honestly, that book looks like it's made for kids." Mabel giggled and Pacifica perked up a little. "Besides, I'm glad you're going with him. Last time I let Dipper go alone into one of his adventures he said he had been trained by a group of _'Manotaurs'_ , whatever that is."

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" The heiress' eyes widened in surprise.

"Nope. I can't today." The two preteens heard Dipper coming downstairs. "Take care of my brother for me, okay?" She held her by the shoulders and Pacifica nodded. "Oh, and by the way," Mabel leaned closer and whispered. "I think he likes you. Well, bye!" Mabel chirped and ran out of the house, leaving a blushing Pacifica behind.

Dipper came back into the room and saw her flushing.

"Are you… alright? Pacifica?" Dipper asked and then tensed. "Please, tell me Mabel hasn't shown you pictures of me dressed in a lamb costume."

Pacifica looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment.

"Um… No, it was just some girl talk. Are we leaving or not?"

"Just a sec…" He patted his pockets to make sure he was carrying the Journal. "Yeah, we have everything. Let's go."

As both kids were walking out of the porch, a gruff voice called for them from inside the Shack.

"Kids! Have you seen a taxidermist around here? Kids?" Grunkle Stan poked his head around the door. "Hey Dipper, have you seen—" He noticed Pacifica and his features hardened. "What's _she_ doing here?"

"I came to see Dipper and Mabel, obviously." Pacifica stepped in before Dipper had a chance to answer.

Stan crossed his arms over his chest and put on his sarcastic tone.

"Well, excuse me! I thought that you _'obviously'_ had come to mess with my niece and nephew!"

Pacifica opened her mouth to give a sarcastic reply but Dipper was faster, placing himself between them.

"That's water under the bridge. We invited her in, Grunkle Stan. We're friends now." He reassured and raised his hands to calm everyone's nerves.

"Whatever you say kid." Stan shrugged but kept glaring at the heiress. "Have you seen Soos? Did your sister already left?"

"Nope, and yeah. She just left." Dipper answered.

"I'll have to find him myself then. You kids gonna play around here?"

"We are going to the woods."

Stan raised an eyebrow and looked at Pacifica.

"You are gonna set your feet into the woods? I thought you Northwests only went from the manor to the rich parties and back, and you always needed a limo to do that!" Stan laughed and Dipper facepalmed.

Pacifica shoved Dipper aside and put on her smug smile.

"I'm sure I'll do better in the woods than some ninety years old man with a fez and shoulder hair." She replied bitterly.

"Whoa, that hurts." Stan chuckled and went back into the house. "Well, good luck out there kids!"

Once he left, Dipper looked at Pacifica with an amused smile.

"I think my Grunkle likes you."

"Of course he does. I'm rich." The heiress replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, sometimes he sees wallets instead of people." Dipper chuckled and beckoned to her. "C'mon, the monster's lair isn't close."

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

The two preteens had been walking for a few minutes without much conversation. There was a layer of thick ice that prevented them from talking. Dipper didn't know much of Pacifica and was too shy to ask, so he focused on avoid getting lost in the woods. On the other hand, Pacifica would've liked to ask him about himself, but she saw Dipper nose deep into that Journal and she stayed silent. Pacifica let her mind wander to the previous days that had led her to come to the Mystery Shack that morning.

Two weeks ago, after the party in the Northwest manor, even though the manor had been saved from being burned to ashes and the ghost had been vanished, Pacifica's parents had been mad anyway. The townsfolk had severely damaged the manor and they had to deal now with the repairs. Once the party was over, Pacifica was grounded in her room without being able to leave the manor for a whole month. The poor heiress couldn't help but sigh and wonder if she had done the right thing.

The fourth day of her grounding, the party appeared on the newspapers as _'A legendary party for the whole town to remember'_. Her parents reconsidered the grounding and talked to her. Good fame gave renown to the family name, and that was always a great thing, so Pacifica was immediately ungrounded. However, Pacifica was mad at them, because they had just proved her that she was right from the start, but she avoided another argument. There was something more important occupying her mind.

Over the four days that she had spent grounded in her room, unwilling to talk to anybody and angry at the world, she reconsidered everything that had happened at the party. Pacifica had experienced something in her chest, something that she couldn't get out of her mind, and it had begun the moment Dipper had raised her spirits in the secret room behind the painting. That feeling had later only increased when they thrashed the silver pattern carpet together, and had kept thumping inside her along the night.

Pacifica wasn't sure what that feeling was, she had never experienced something that strong, but what she knew is that it always led to Dipper and also brought a smile to her face. When anybody else would have left her for a lost cause, Dipper had come back and trusted her. Pacifica didn't care one bit being grounded in her room, because she had slept like a log and with a broad smile. She was certain she had done the right thing, but she needed to find out what that feeling was.

The next week she had gone to town in order to clear her thoughts. Everything was a mess. She had heard in the news something about an earthquake. Buildings like the Greasy Diner were upside down and there were lots of construction machinery trying to place everything back to its original place. While walking through town, Pacifica came across that Korean girl and the lizard one, and they, much to her surprise, waved at her with a smile. Pacifica felt like waving back instead of mocking them, and she did so. A few seconds later she stopped on her tracks and wondered for a second what had just happened.

Pacifica hurried her way back to the manor and began pacing in circles in her room. She thought she was going insane or something of the sorts, so she decided to ask someone about it. At first, she considered asking her parents but the idea was quickly discarded, therefore she did the closest thing available, and that was asking one of her butlers of confidence.

"Lars, can I make you a personal question?"

"Well of course, Miss Pacifica."

"What makes a person… who usually behaves in a way, suddenly behave in a completely different way?" She asked, unsure if her choice of words was clear enough.

"There might be many reasons. Are we talking about a temporal behavior or a permanent one?"

"It seems permanent" She sighed.

"Then, I guess this… person" The butler smiled slyly because he knew who Pacifica was referring to. "might have reached a crossroads in her life. This is usually caused by a strong experience, like a trauma, or falling in love."

"And… can that person change back?"

"I think she can. But she can also pursue this new way of seeing life. Besides, she might look better without a perpetual frown on her forehead when she thinks no one is looking." He gave her a knowing smile.

"Yeah… Thanks, Lars. I'll give it a thought." Pacifica reciprocated the smile and went back to her room. She hadn't truly hoped to deceive the butler, considering he had known her since birth.

Pacifica had a look at all she had learned and reached a conclusion. She had changed, and the axis to those changes had been Dipper. And maybe she had a crush on him. Pacifica wasn't sure, but she definitely liked him. However, she also knew that her parents mustn't know about it. They would never allow their only child hanging out with the Pines twins, let alone her crush on Dipper, so Pacifica waited for the best day to visit the Mystery Shack and set her feelings in order.

The heiress had a look at her calendar. Next Monday her parents had to go to a rich party and she had tennis training at the same time. She decided to skip the tennis class and go to the Mystery Shack. Although she wasn't sure what to do once she got there. Pacifica knew almost nothing of the twins, but she was determined in going nonetheless. Whatever had to happen would happen.

"Pacifica?" Dipper waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Pacifica! Are you there?" He broke her train of thought.

"Huh? Sorry, I was… thinking."

"About what?" Dipper tried to start a conversation to break the thick layer of ice.

"It was nothing." She shook her head. "You were saying something? I think I zoned out for a sec here."

"I asked you if you wanted to know where we are going." Dipper pointed at his Journal.

"Sure. Wait, that's not the same book you brought to the manor." She eyed the golden six-fingered hand with a two painted on it.

"Yup, I got this one two days ago." He smiled and showed her his new Journal.

"Where did you get it? Did you finally find the Author?" She asked in surprise. When Dipper had told her after the Northwest party the story behind his Journal and how the Author had disappeared thirty years ago, she thought he would never find him. After all, it's not easy to find someone who had been missing for thirty years.

"Yeah, we finally found him. Turns out he was my Grunkle Stan's twin brother, Ford, who was trapped in another dimension for thirty years. Grunkle Stan brought him back thanks to the Journals." He explained nonchalantly.

"You are kidding, right?" Pacifica eyed him warily to make sure he wasn't laughing at her. "Your great uncle has a twin brother? And they are named the same?"

"He does!" He smiled at her surprise. "But no, Grunkle Stan is Stanley, and Great Uncle Ford is Stanford. They are polar opposites though. Just like me and Mabel I guess."

"Your family sounds like a lot of fun.” Pacifica smiled faintly. “I wish mine was more like it."

They walked for some more time without saying anything. Dipper seemed again lost in thought and Pacifica bit her lower lip. She had enjoyed the small conversation and was eager for more, so it was apparently her time to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Mabel and you are doing okay?" She asked and Dipper looked at her quizzically. "I mean, I thought you guys always did this stuff together but she didn't come today."

Dipper sighed deeply and stopped walking.

"I don't know…"

"Wow, is something wrong with Mabel?" She quickly regretted asking anything.

"Apart from the fact that one of this days she will choke on pancakes, there's nothing wrong with Mabel." He joked and Pacifica relaxed a little. "It's my Grunkles. One is the author, who was my idol since I found the Journal and who I haven't had the chance of talking more than ten words ever since he's been back, and the other is a conman who has been lying to us the whole summer. They hate each other but… they used to be the best of siblings. I was wondering if the same will happen to Mabel and me…" Dipper's voice ended in a mumble.

Pacifica snorted at how improbable that sounded but then covered her mouth instantly. It was disrespectful after all.

"Did you just snort?" Dipper looked at her with a teasing smile.

"Of course not. That's not ladylike." She lied and blushed. "And you're a dork if you think Mabel and you are gonna grow apart. I don't have any siblings for comparison, but you guys seem very close." Pacifica reassured.

"Thanks." Dipper said sincerely, feeling a weight being lifted off his chest. "Talking about it really helps a lot."

"You're welcome, Dork." She gave him a playful smile.

"Is that going to become a nickname?" He asked with a worried look.

"Maybe, I don't know." She shrugged and continued walking.

"So… you said you didn't have any siblings?" Dipper quickly changed topics in hopes that she would forget about the nickname.

"Yup. No siblings, no cousins, no close relatives… It's just my parents, close to two dozen butlers depending on the day and me in that huge manor." She pointed to the hill where the Northwest Manor was. As it was a big hill and they hadn't reached yet the dense part of the forest, it was still noticeable where she lived.

"Speaking of the manor, how did everything go after the party?" He asked with a smile at the memories.

"Not very well…” It was Pacifica's time to stop and sigh. “I got kinda grounded for a few days."

"Oh… Did they sound that bell or… nevermind." Dipper cursed inwardly his curious mind.

"It's not what you're thinking." Pacifica leaned on a tree and averted his gaze. "They don't hit me or anything with that bell, they're my parents after all. But they are very controlling and want me to be the modal heiress." She sighed. "I've to be the smartest of my classmates, and if I ever come home with something less than an A+ I have to stay the whole weekend with a tutor studying. I can't eat any sugary product like chocolate because they're hazardous to my figure and Northwests aren't fat, so I also have to go play stupid tennis every Monday. I can't bring any friends to the manor because they _'drag mud to the carpets'_ … not like I would have any real friends anyway. Everyone is either too afraid of me or just wants a piece of my money and fame.” She paused for a moment. Dipper didn’t comment. “Whenever I failed at any of those things, they sounded that bell to let me know that I was doing it wrong but… at the party I had to save those people because it was the right thing… and I got grounded nonetheless." She raised her head and looked at him with a sad face. "Dipper… talking about it didn't make me feel any better."

Dipper frowned and looked into her eyes. Where in her deep blue eyes there was earlier a spark of excitement about this adventure, there was now a level of sadness Dipper hadn't seen since the party.

"I'm so sorry, Pacifica. You have it far worse than me. I at least have Mabel to talk to." He held her by the shoulders and brought her into a hug.

Pacifica's eyes widened at the sudden display of affection. Her hands hesitated for a second and then she hugged him back, rejoicing in the fluttering in her chest.

"Better now?" Dipper asked and parted the embrace.

"Yeah." She said a little disappointed at how short the hug had been.

"It feels a little awkward when they do it to you, huh?" Dipper teased, noticing the faint blush on her cheeks.

"What?" Pacifica had no clue what was he talking about.

"Last time we did this, you jumped at me without warning. Now we are even in the surprise hugs department." Dipper rubbed his neck nervously. "I can't offer you any money though."

Pacifica laughed remembering the time she hugged him at the party.

"You don't have to give me anything, Dork."

"Good to know because my options were between that cool rock over there" He replied playfully, gesturing to a weird-looking rock near a tree. "and that flower over there." He gestured to a white-dotted red flower. "Actually, we better forget about the flower. That's a unique species that weeps when you cut it from the ground."

"C'mon, you're messing with me!" Pacifica giggled and walked up to the flower to pick it up. Dipper however grabbed her forearm to stop her.

"No, I'm not. Paranormal forest, remember?" He said and showed her the Journal.

"Right." Pacifica's eyes widened and she couldn't help but wonder how a flower could shed tears.

They walked for a little more in silence, getting deeper into the forest. Dipper then spoke.

"There is something you said that I know it's not true." Pacifica gave him a quizzical look. "Mabel and I are your friends, Pacifica, and we don't care about your money." He reassured seriously. "Also, you look great and there's no harm in eating chocolate now and then." He mumbled the last part and blushed.

"Thanks." Pacifica muttered and blushed too.

"So… how is monster hunting compared to tennis practice?" Dipper quickly changed topics.

"Not bad. I hope it gets better though." She said with a smile. "How did you know I skipped tennis class?" The heiress asked.

"I guessed it. Today is Monday and I don't think you're going to play tennis in that dress."

Pacifica wondered for a second how long she would be grounded if her parents ever found out that she had skipped tennis to go into the woods with the Pines boy.

"I just hope I don't get into much trouble if my parents find out."

"Don't think about that right now. We're at the moment in our own adventure and I can assure you it'll be worth it." He said with excitement and Pacifica raised an eyebrow at him, considering the most exciting they had done so far was walking. "Take for example the typical fantasy novel: The protagonist always leaves something behind in order to embark on an epic adventure." He explained.

"Don't be ridiculous Dipper. All those stories are made up."

"Yes, they are all made up, but there is also a grain of truth in every one of them." Dipper replied with a know-it-all smile.

"You are such a dork." Pacifica laughed.

With the initial tension between them gone, both preteens began quickly conversing with ease. Dipper pushed aside his thoughts about the Author and his worries about his future with Mabel for a while, and Pacifica genuinely enjoyed talking to him, rejoicing in the warm feeling that was filling her chest whenever she heard his voice.

As they walked deep into the woods, Pacifica couldn't help but wonder the same thing.

_'Maybe I'll find my grain of truth.'_

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

Mabel had finished having lunch at Grenda's and they were in her room playing _'Calling All Boys: Preteen Edition'_. After a few rounds, Mabel suddenly jumped up from her seat.

"Um… Something wrong?" Grenda wondered.

"Oh my gosh, Grenda! I just remembered I had some gossip to tell you!" She chirped.

"I love gossiping! Tell me! Tell me!" Grenda added, thumping her fists on the floor each time.

"Dipper…" Mabel paused to add suspense. "…is hanging out in the woods with…" She raised her hands to her mouth to contain the laugher and Grenda did the same. "…PACIFICA!"

"No way!" Grenda exclaimed in astonishment.

"I know, right?! Now that I think about it, they make such a good couple!"

"Wait, Dipper took Pacifica on a date to the woods?" Grenda asked with a raised eyebrow, since the woods didn't seem like the proper place for dates.

"No, no. They went into one of Dipper's weird adventures." Mabel waved her hand dismissively. "But you could sense the love in the air!" She added enthusiastically.

"If they are going to be a couple we need a name for it! I propose Padippica! Pacifica seems meaner than your brother, so I placed her name first." Grenda explained.

"That sounds like a fantastic name!" Mabel's eyes bulged out in awe. "But hear mine first: Dipifica. We use the beginning of Dipper's name and the end of Pacifica's." She explained. "My brother goes first because he scored negative in my dating test and he is more likely to screw it up, so we'll give him that at least." She shrugged.

"That is some flawless logic!" Grenda nodded as serious as if they were discussion a mathematical problem. "Dipifica it is then." They shared a giggle. "Now it is time to name their child. I'll go with Bronswick IV."

"That is such a beautiful name, Grenda!" Mabel praised. "How do you come up with those names?"

"I just say the first thing that comes into my head! It sounds easy, but in truth it is really hard."

"I know, right?" Mabel looked through the window and noticed it was already late in the day. "Well, I better get going. I told Dipper I would be home by evening, which means I am already late!" She gave her goodbyes to Grenda and her family and then walked her way to the Shack.

She got there just in time to see Dipper running for the first aid kit.


	2. Monster Hunt

Dipper and Pacifica had been walking and talking for a while now. From time to time, Dipper had to stop the conversation and have a look at his surroundings, then check his Journal to make sure they were going in the right direction.

"So you cook your own food and iron your own clothes?" Pacifica asked in amazement.

"Yep. I always wanted to have a butler but, until I am rich, I've to do everything myself. Mabel cooks, though. You don't want to see me trying to use the kitchen." Dipper reassured with a smile.

Pacifica giggled and then looked at him curiously.

"I guess it's hard."

"Sometimes it is, but by doing things yourself you gain sort of a special satisfaction once they are done. I always see it as getting an A+ in a school exam." Dipper explained.

"There's no way I'm seeing ironing my dresses as getting an A+." Pacifica shuddered.

"Your parents really grounded you if you didn't come home with at least an A+? Even with a… I don't know, B+?" Dipper asked in astonishment.

"Yeah. Think of it this way: I am the sole heiress of a big economical empire. The local sawmill, the mudflap factory, multiple houses throughout the town… All of that will one day be mine." She made a broad gesture with her arms. "And I have to know how to rule it."

"So… I guess that _really_ is hard." Dipper gave her a lopsided smile and felt suddenly thankful that all he had to do was ironing his own clothes and doing his bed. "Speaking of which, how do you do in math?" He fished out his Journal from his vest.

"Probably better than you." She gave him a mocking smile.

"Really?" Dipper reciprocated the smile. "Then you won't have much trouble solving me this." He opened the journal and pointed to what looked like gibberish in Pacifica's eyes. "This is a cryptogram that took me a while to decipher yesterday. I'll give you a clue: It uses the Caesar cipher."

Pacifica took the Journal from Dipper's hands and examined the text. She had studied a little about ciphers back in school and knew that Caesar was used back in the times of Rome, and that it was simply a position shift in the alphabet. She focused on the short words until she spotted _'dqg'_ , which should definitely be _'and'_. Knowing that _'d'_ was _'a'_ , Pacifica quickly pictured in her mind-eye an alphabet with the shifted positions and a normal one right below it. Then, her creative mind began to work on deciphering each word.

"I got it!" She exclaimed in excitement.

Dipper's mocking smile turned into a dumbfounded expression.

"What!?" He handed her a pencil. "Write down the translated first line, just above the text."

Pacifica began to write, slowly at first but then smoother, until she got the first line.

"There you go. This was an easy one." She shrugged.

Dipper quickly snatched the Journal from her hands and began to search the line for mistakes. He found none.

"You deciphered this without writing a guide on a paper first to help yourself?" Dipper asked as his eyes bulged out.

"Well, duh. All you have to do is picture both the new alphabet and the original one in your head." She shrugged.

"That was impressive, Pacifica! Like… wow!” Dipper was astonished. “You have an amazing imagination!"

"Of course I do." She replied proudly, enjoying the praises to her intellect. Dipper however began to snicker and Pacifica couldn't help but ask. "What?"

"Nothing. I think you just confirmed how dyed your hair is." Dipper said as his snicker turned into laughter.

"Seriously, Dipper? Blonde jokes?" Pacifica didn't take well his insinuation and gave him a shove.

"Ouch! Sorry, sorry." Dipper quickly apologized to prevent another shove. "It's just that, well, your father is brown-haired and your mother is dark blonde… I thought you dyed your hair." He tried to explain himself as he rubbed his arm nervously.

"It's not dyed, my grandmother had the same hair color and I guess I got it from her. Here, have a look." Pacifica pulled a good lock of her hip-length hair over her shoulder and held it out.

Dipper held in his palm the long lock of blonde hair and caressed it with his thumb. It felt silky to the touch, with a faint smell of lilacs shampoo. A smile appeared on Dipper's face and he wasn't sure to have ever touched anything so silky before, but he would do it for hours. Dipper quickly let go of the lock of hair and hid behind his Journal.

"I uh… Yeah, it looks… very natural and… shiny."

"Thanks." Pacifica said to the compliment of her hair and eyed curiously how his ears were becoming red behind the Journal. "You are still a dork, though."

Dipper smiled at being caught and lowered the Journal, coughing a little in vain tries to lower his blush. He then recognized a few bushes in front of them.

"We're here." He beckoned her to follow him.

Behind the bushes there was a clearing in the forest, and in that clearing there was a tall rocky hill. The first thing that caught Pacifica's attention was that the hill was a little too tall to be naturally formed in this area, and that it had no slopes, but walls of rock forming plateaus at different height levels. Then she realized that there were no trees on the hill or in the area surrounding it, as if the vegetation was afraid of growing near it.

As Pacifica raised her head and accidentally gaped to look at the top of the mountain, Dipper focused his examination on the ground and the trees on the forest edge. He touched the branch of a tree and then walked up to a big rock partially buried on the ground. Soon Pacifica got out of her thoughts and stood behind Dipper.

"What are you looking at?" She asked curiously.

"Tracks. We're looking for this." He handled her the open Journal and then he went back to examining the rock.

Pacifica had a quick look at the page. There were a few cryptograms on the side, but most of the text was normal. There was a picture of the creature on the top left of the page. It was a big bird with eagle claws and long feathered wings. However, the chest and the bald head were of a person, with the exception of having a beak instead of nose and mouth. It lacked the ears and below the wings it had in addition a pair of arms covered in plumage with claws-like fingers and crystals incrusted in the forearms.

"A Celaeno harpy…" She read aloud and Dipper nodded. "…is the only harpy species that has something resembling an intelligence. Like all harpies, they live in rocky mountains close to villages and small towns where they can steal valuables from, which they treasure in their nests." Pacifica paused for a second and wondered if the earrings she lost last summer might be up there. "They're scavengers, very territorial and are likely to attack intruders. The harpies, rather than fighting their aggressors, prefer to lift them in the air and then drop them from a high altitude. Their main diet is bone marrow." Pacifica screwed up her face and looked at the boy. "Ew, Dipper. These things are disgusting."

"Yeah, but like everything in that book the best part is hidden in the cryptograms. What’s not mentioned in the description is that this species of harpies can steal people's dreams and store them in the crystals of their forearms. A _'filled'_ crystal glows so they place it on their nests to scare predators." Dipper explained.

"Hmm… Well, that sounds cool and highly immoral. I wouldn't mind taking a peek at one of those crystals though." She gave the Journal back to Dipper. "People don't remember getting their dreams stolen?"

"Nah, they remember nothing when they wake up." Dipper clarified.

"And what makes you think there could be nests in here? I mean, _'rocky mountain'_ is very vague as a description."

"Have a look at that tree, the closest one." He pointed back to the forest edge. Pacifica walked up to the tree and looked at it quizzically, failing to see anything weird. "Don't you see the claw marks on the lowest branch? One of them sharpened its claws there."

Pacifica had a better look and noticed that the bark had indeed claw marks.

"These seems like normal scratches to me. Why couldn't a bear have made them?" She questioned his theory.

"A bear would've had sharpened its claws on the log, not the on branches." Dipper countered.

Pacifica thought about it for a few seconds. She didn't like being wrong, but she had to agree with him.

"I guess it makes sense, but that only means one of them was here. They fly and can easily cover long distances. What else makes you think this mountain is their lair?" She still tried to dismantle Dipper's theory.

Dipper gave her a smirk.

"That's easy. This is the closest mountain to town which matches the description, and there is also this." He pointed to the rock he had been examining earlier.

Pacifica walked back next to him and squatted along with Dipper to have a closer look. The rock was covered with a brownish white substance.

"Oh, that's bird poop." She rose back to her feet with a disgusted expression on her face. "Please, don't tell me you're gonna dip a finger in it and then put it into your mouth to make sure it's harpy's poop like they do in the movies."

"Ew, of course not!" Dipper shuddered. "It's enough by seeing the size of it! I mean, there's a lot of poop in apparently only one drop! It had to be a very big bird!"

"Let's stop talking about bird poop." Pacifica narrowed her eyes and tried her best not to picture one of those creatures pooping while flying. Just in case, she had a quick glance above herself.

"Agreed." Dipper snickered. "But you see what I mean, right? They must have a nest in this mountain."

"Alright, you've convinced me." Pacifica put on a teasing tone. "You've got some keen detective skills, Pines. I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Northwest." He replied in the same teasing tone and both of them smiled. "Now let's go get one of those glowing crystals, shall we?"

"What if we find a harpy? I'd prefer to keep my bone marrow if it's not much to ask." She joked although her voice had a small hint of fright.

"Don't worry Pacifica." He showed her the page and pointed at the ciphered text. "The harpies are very territorial and also very noisy. I don't know about you, but I don't hear anything. They must be out."

"I guess. So… we have to climb?" She asked, noticeably more calmed now.

"Yes, let's see if this mountain wall is lower somewhere."

They circled the mountain. After a quarter hour they reached a part where the wall seemed to have cracked and fallen years ago, forming a low natural rocky plateau at a lower level. However, the edge was still a little too high for any of them to reach. Dipper pondered their options for a second and then asked.

"How much do you weight?"

"Excuse me?" Pacifica's eyes widened and she looked at him with a surprised face.

"We can reach that edge over there if one lifts the other." He explained.

Pacifica looked first at the edge and then at the boy, measuring the distance and his height.

"Fine, but I'll lift you." She pressed her back on the wall and put her hands together in front of herself to push him up.

"Hey, I may not look strong but I can lift you too." Dipper countered, his manliness hurt.

"I'm not saying you can't" She reassured. "I'm just not gonna ruin my dress and nails by pulling myself up that edge." Dipper raised an eyebrow, still not convinced and Pacifica groaned and rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Dipper. We don't have all day."

"Alright. Here, hold me this." Dipper took off his cap and put it on Pacifica's head. He thought she looked funny and smiled.

Pacifica was a little surprised at first, but soon she readjusted the cap on her head and got her hands back in position.

"Well, you want me to push you up or not."

Dipper put a foot on her hands and, as he jumped with his other leg Pacifica lifted him and he reached the edge, pulling himself up. Both preteens huffed at the effort and soon Dipper stood on the edge of the plateau above Pacifica.

"You see something up there?" Pacifica asked while dusting her hands.

Dipper took a survey of the plateau. It was small with yet more high walls on it. However, there was a big crack on one of the walls resembling a very small and narrow cave, but big enough for him to fit in. Dipper saw something glowing inside and smiled. When he poked his head inside the hole, he saw something resembling a nest in the far end of it with three eggs as big as ostrich's, but he paid no attention to them. Closer to the entrance there was incrusted in what looked like dried mud or clay a blue crystal the size of a big apple. Dipper tried to pull the crystal out, but it was buried deep within the mud/clay and, in addition, the moment he touched it the crystal began glowing and vibrating. Dipper decided not to touch it again with his hands and kicked the mud/clay around the crystal until it fell free to the ground. Then, he took off his vest and grabbed the crystal in it, noticing how this time it neither glowed nor vibrated at the touch.

Meanwhile Pacifica had taken off the pine tree cap and she had it in her hands, rubbing it with her thumbs. The heiress didn't know why, but she felt that the cap was somehow bound to Dipper. She couldn't imagine him without it.

She heard footsteps above herself.

"You found it?"

"Yeah, here it is." Dipper showed her his vest made a ball. "Take it and careful not to touch it directly. It does something weird."

Dipper dropped the vest and Pacifica caught it in the air. She took a quick peek inside the vest and gasped at the crystal. It reminded her of a big sapphire, but with a glow of its own. Then she raised her head towards Dipper and gave him a playful smile.

"Wow, Dipper. First your cap, now your vest… By the end of the day I'll have all your clothes!" She joked and began laughing.

Dipper blushed and couldn't help but smile. Her laughter was contagious.

"You're the worst." He joked too and both preteens laughed heartily.

They didn't laugh for long. A shadow above them gave a shriek and dived from the sky towards them, shoving Dipper in the chest and making him fall to his back with an _'Hnng'_ on the rocky plateau. Then it landed on the edge and glared at the vest Pacifica had in her hands.

"Oh, no." Pacifica gasped as she saw the harpy staring at her with completely black eyes.

"Pacifica, run!" Dipper got to his feet and yelled from above her in the plateau. The harpy extended its wings menacingly to look bigger and turned to scare this new threat. Dipper's eyes widened and stood still as a statue, trying to avoid making any sudden movement that would provoke the creature.

"What?! I'm not leaving you with that oversized bird!"

Pacifica had another idea in mind. She dropped Dipper's vest and grabbed a small stone from the ground. She aimed carefully and struck the harpy right on the bald head. The creature shrieked in pain and turned to what it deemed as the clear threat. The harpy took off and flew towards the heiress, claws first. Pacifica gasped and tried to run away, but the harpy flew fast and its claws reached Pacifica's shoulders, raising her from the ground. The heiress cried in pain and struggled to break free.

Dipper ran to the edge and saw what was happening. Without thinking it twice and with a completely distressed face, Dipper took three quick breaths and jumped off the edge, landing on top of the flying creature. The harpy grunted at the added weight, but it was still not enough prevent its flight and continued flying up, raising both preteens in the air. Dipper thought of punching the harpy, but it wouldn't stop flapping its wings and he feared that if he let go of his grasp on the plumage, he would fall from its back.

Pacifica became desperate. She was feeling an increasing sense of vertigo and a stinging pain in her shoulders where the claws were dug deep. The heiress tried to fight back, but the hold on her shoulders prevented her from using her arms, so she head-butted the harpy's belly with the back of her head. The first time she didn't do much damage, but the second time her silver hoop earrings brushed the harpy's claw. The creature shrieked at the burning pain caused by the silver and let go of that shoulder, completely unbalancing its weight. The harpy lost altitude quickly and soon crashed on the grass along with both preteens. It stood on its claws, shook its head and then it hurriedly flew back to its nest.

Both Dipper and Pacifica groaned on the ground. Dipper had rolled a few times on the grass when the harpy had crashed and his arms hurt, but he was the first to get to his feet. He noticed that he had scrapped his knees and elbows, but overall he was alright.

"Uff, we were lucky the harpy lost its balance!" He looked at Pacifica, who sat up with scrapped elbows too. "Pacifica, that was amazing! You totally gave that harpy the business!" He praised.

"D-did I?" Pacifica's head was spinning a little too much to fully understand what had happened. Her bloodstream was filled with adrenaline, her hands tingled in excitement and she felt the need to throw up, but the experience of escaping death had given her such a strong feeling that she'd love to do that again… after resting for a week or two.

"Yeah! You're definitely the worst, but in a good way!" He joked and Pacifica smiled. She was glad that what had started as an insult had become a compliment.

Dipper stood up and dusted his clothes. Pacifica tried to do the same but cried in pain. Dipper's face contorted in fear and he ran to see what was wrong with the heiress.

"It's t-the left shoulder." She complained and tried to touch her own shoulder, quickly withdrawing her hand and wincing in pain. With the adrenaline rush she had forgotten about the injury the harpy's claws had caused to one of her shoulders. "Help me out of my jacket, Dipper." She demanded, her voice weakened by the sudden stinging pain.

"Who's taking off clothes now?" He tried to joke to ease the ambience and it worked.

Pacifica displayed a faint smile and Dipper very slowly removed her jacket, careful of not forcing her injured shoulder much. There were three holes below her collarbone on her dress and a growing blood stain in them. Dipper quickly fished out a tissue from his shorts pocket and handled it to her.

"Press this hard on the wound.” He instructed. “It doesn't look bad but we don't want it to get infected."

Pacifica did as told and flinched at first, but soon she calmed and pressed the tissue on her wound. Dipper stared at the blood stain on the jacket he had in his hands and frowned deeply. He couldn't help thinking that it had been his fault, and that he shouldn't have let her come, or that he should have gone after something less dangerous, or that at least they should have come more prepared.

"Dipper, don't do that." Pacifica said, staring at his face.

"Do what?"

"You're blaming yourself, aren't you? Well, this wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that thing was going to come back right when we were leaving."

"How do you expect me to avoid blaming myself? It was my idea to come here. It was I who allowed you to come here, and it was I who put you in danger. Not that harpy, she was just defending her eggs. This is all my fault." Dipper sighed and clenched the blood stained jacket in his hands.

"First off, it was I who wanted to come and I would've done so whether you liked it or not. I always get what I want; I am a Northwest after all. So forget about that." Pacifica countered. "Besides, I don't blame you, so why would you blame yourself?" She added with a small smile.

"Thanks.” Dipper perked up a little and reciprocated the smile. “We should probably get out of here though, just in case the harpy decides to come back with some friends." Dipper helped her get to her feet and noticed how she winced. "You want me to… I don't know, carry you or something?"

"No," She blushed and then snapped proudly. "I can walk on my own."

Dipper wasn't so sure about that, but he didn't insist.

"Wait here for a sec." He said and ran to the low wall he had climbed with Pacifica's help earlier. He came back with his vest made a ball in his hands, the crystal inside.

"Are you sure it's safe for us to take that?" She asked warily, taking a quick look above herself in search of any harpy trying to grab her again.

"After how hard it has been to get it, I'm not leaving it." He shook his head. "By the way, sorry about the clothes." Dipper pointed to her purple dress which had grass, dirt and blood stains. "I know you didn't want them to get dirty."

Pacifica wondered how she was going to explain to her parents why her dress was so dirty and why her shoulder was bloodied. The heiress sighed and shook her head, putting a smug smile.

"Pffft, don't worry about this. I'll get a new one." She waved her hand dismissively. "C'mon, let's go back to the Shack. It's getting dark."


	3. Disinfectant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Partial nudity and sexual humor.

Dusk was falling rapidly when they reached the Shack. Dipper had insisted on them walking slowly. Their bodies had already assimilated the adrenaline rush and everything had begun to hurt. Dipper's knees and elbows burned where he had scrapped them, but Pacifica had it worse. The wound under her collarbone, although it had stopped bleeding long ago, gave her a stinging pain whenever she walked causing her to wince at every step. Dipper had tried a few times to check her wound but Pacifica had reassured him every single time that it was good, so he stopped asking. He however kept an eye on her as they walked.

The two preteens entered the gift shop. Wendy, who was leaning boringly on the counter spotted them and saw how dirty and how scrapped their elbows were.

"Wow, you dudes alright? You look like you've just been hit by a bus!"

Dipper placed both his vest and Pacifica's jacket on the counter and shook his head. It was then that Wendy noticed the bloodied tissue the heiress was holding against her collarbone. The redhead lumberjack quickly stood up and strode up to Pacifica.

"Is that blood? Let me have a look" She raised Pacifica from the floor, much to the latter's surprise, and sat her on the counter.

The heiress, who hadn't liked one bit to be treated as a child, glared at the redhead lumberjack. Wendy on the other hand ignored the murderous look and tried to move the tissue aside to have a look.

"Wait!" Pacifica instinctively moved aside. "It's good! I mean… It stopped bleeding a while ago and I think it doesn't even hurt anymore." She tried to dissuade the redhead lumberjack.

"It's okay, I'll be careful." Wendy rolled her eyes. "My three little brothers come home all the time with small wounds from playing in the woods." She gave her a reassuring look.

Pacifica hesitated at first, but Dipper gave her a nod and the heiress reluctantly pulled the tissue aside.

"Hmm… it doesn't look so bad.” Wendy raised an eyebrow. “It's a little dirty, though. You'll need to apply disinfectant there and perhaps dress it up, but you'll definitely live." She shrugged jokingly.

"Well, duh!” Pacifica put on a smug face. “Of course I'll live. This didn't even hurt one bit." The Northwest girl exclaimed proudly.

Wendy, who had noticed her wincing earlier, gave her a curious look and then poked her in the wound.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?"

"I thought it didn't hurt one bit." Wendy looked at her playfully. "Now jokes aside, next time something like this happens, if it hurts don't hesitate to tell us, got it?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow and in return she received a big glare from the heiress. Wendy ignored her and turned to Dipper. The boy had a completely distressed face and didn't get his eyes off Pacifica. Wendy couldn't help but smile and got his attention.

"Dipper, go fetch the first aid kit.” Wendy commanded. “The sooner she gets that clean the better."

Dipper nodded very slowly and, after giving one last look to the heiress, he left into the living area of the Shack. Just that very moment, Mabel entered the gift shop through the door. She saw her brother getting hurriedly into the living room and she looked at Wendy quizzically.

"What happened?" Mabel asked.

"Pacifica got hurt in her first adventure but _'it doesn't hurt one bit'_." The teen made air quotes and Pacifica deemed that very moment that she hated her.

"Oh my gosh, Pacifica! Did my brother bore you so much that you tried to commit suicide?" Mabel exclaimed in a rather serious tone with her eyes bulging.

"Really?" Pacifica gave her an incredulous look.

"What happened then?" Mabel asked and Wendy raised an eyebrow, curious about the story too.

Pacifica sighed and couldn't believe what she was about to say.

"An oversized bird which apparently poops a lot grabbed me and tried to drop me so to feed on my bone marrow." She explained with her gaze glued to the ceiling. "And it kinda injured my shoulder." She moved aside the tissue again to show Mabel the wound. "But we got this in return." She pointed to Dipper's vest.

Mabel took a peek inside the vest and her eyes sparkled.

"It's so shinny!" She exclaimed and tried to touch the crystal, but Pacifica held her forearm and prevented her from doing so.

"Dipper warned me not to touch it." The heiress warned.

"Why?” Mabel asked and wrapped the crystal back in Dipper's vest.

"Maybe it is dangerous or something." Pacifica shrugged and then sighed. "I don't know if it was a good idea going into that adventure. Sure, exploring the woods, following tracks and solving mysteries was fun but… escaping death thanks to a lucky head-butt on that bird's belly makes it seem not worth it."

"Nah," Wendy intervened. "you did pretty well for your first monster hunt. A scratch in exchange for such a big sapphire or whatever that is? Seems worth it."

"Yeah!" Mabel chirped happily. "In my first adventure I was kidnapped by several hundred gnomes who wanted to marry me and all I got from that is revulsion to hooded teens." She explained rather cheerfully for being talking about a traumatic experience.

"In mine I had to wrestle myself, dude. Oh, and see myself being axed." Wendy chuckled. "How many people can say that they have wrestled themselves?"

"Or being harassed by a few hundred gnomes?" Mabel added. "That really gives an adrenaline kick!"

Pacifica perked up and smiled.

"Yeah, now that I think about it… it was pretty cool! Surely beats tennis practice by far." She suddenly realized the balance between mystery solving and monster fighting and deemed that she wouldn't have one without the other.

"Well, now that the matter is settled I better go." Wendy stood up and got her coat. "My shift ended two minutes ago. Bye dudes!"

As Wendy was opening the door, Pacifica suddenly realized something.

"Wait! Who's gonna dress my wound? I don't know how to do it." She then looked at Mabel, who shook her head. "Can't you stay and do it?" She asked Wendy.

"I already got that covered, Pacifica." The teen gave her a sly smile. "Dipper knows CPR. I'm sure he knows how to dress a wound." She gave a wink to Mabel and the cheerful brunette got what the redhead lumberjack was thinking. "Well, see ya!"

Wendy waved a hand at them and left. The redhead lumberjack walked up to her bike and smiled. She loved the twins as little siblings and it had saddened her having to reject Dipper a few weeks ago, since she didn't want to lose him as a friend. However, today Wendy had recognized that look of worry in his eyes when he was staring at Pacifica, and she knew that very moment that Dipper cared for the heiress.

"Way to go, Dip. You're finally moving on." She got on her bike and left.

Back at the Shack, Mabel was enjoying finally having her chance to talk to the heiress.

"He showed you the Journal?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, he even made me decipher a cryptogram." The heiress shrugged.

"Dipper is such a nerd! All I see in those ciphered texts is gibberish." Mabel giggled.

"Actually, I managed to decipher one. And pretty fast according to him." Pacifica commented proudly.

"Wait, what?" Mabel's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my gosh! Do you know what that means? You're nerd, just like my brother!" Mabel yelled in enthusiasm and began bouncing next to Pacifica on the counter.

"I am not! I'm just smart!" Pacifica snapped, feeling offended.

"That's what all nerds say." Mabel laughed and shoved her. Pacifica winced because of her wound and the cheerful brunette quickly apologized.

"Oh, yeah? Then you've been beaten by a nerd at mini-golf. What does that makes you, huh?" Pacifica replied playfully.

Mabel was about to counter with another playful remark when Dipper came back into the gift shop with the first aid kit, Stan following behind.

"What's he babbling about a wound that needs to be dressed?" He demanded an explanation.

"Pacifica got hurt in the woods." Mabel replied.

"Huh? You got your elbows scrapped or something?" He approached the heiress and saw the tissue held to her collarbone. "Got hurt in the woods, with what? You kids tried to open stones with your shoulders?" Stan then turned to Dipper, who was trying his best to avert his glare. "I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. That book is for protection, not to seek trouble." Hearing that, Mabel quickly took the crystal from Dipper's vest in her sweater sleeves and hid it inside her sweater.

"I'm sorry Grunkle Stan." Dipper apologized.

"You better be. Now I've got to call her parents and make something up. Imagine the look of the judge if they decide to sue us and I say _'It wasn't me! It was a unicorn!'_." Stan facepalmed.

"Wait, no!" Pacifica quickly jumped up from the counter, wincing because of her wound once she landed on the floor. "You can't call them!"

"Why?"

"It's…" She lowered her gaze and sighed. "…complicated."

"You'll have to elaborate a little more if you want me to believe you, kid".

Pacifica bit her lower lip and averted his gaze. She had no idea how to explain Stan her situation with her parents, and she also had no idea how he would react if she tried. Dipper felt completely responsible for the situation and stepped in to talk for her.

"Grunkle Stan, Pacifica has… trouble at home with her parents." He began gesturing with his hands, trying to elaborate what he was trying to say. "And… she was supposed to be at tennis practice, so if they find out she was here instead and got hurt… she might get into some real trouble."

Stan raised an eyebrow and stared at the boy to make sure he wasn't lying to him. Then, Mabel decided to aid the situation too. She gave him a pout and mouthed a "Pretty please, Grunkle Stan?"

Stan wondered for a second what would've happened to him if his parents had kicked him out of his home when he was twelve instead of seventeen and he didn't have to think it twice the situation.

"Alright kids," He sighed and relaxed his posture. "but I've to call them regardless and let them know she's here. I'll just skip the _'she got hurt'_ part." He gave the heiress a reassuring look and Pacifica gave him a smile. "One of you two patch her up and the other go make something to eat while I do the phone call. You don't mind staying for the night, kiddo?"

"What?" Pacifica had no idea of when they had reached this agreement.

"Yay! Sleepover!" Mabel chirped happily.

"I can't call your folks and say _'Hey, I just found out your kid is here. I'm sending her back to your house in an hour or so.'_ They would get suspicious. But I can say _'Hey, your kid is staying here for the night with my nephew and niece. I'll send her back to your house tomorrow.'_ And that also gives you time to get that wound fixed." Stan explained.

Pacifica frowned and thought about her situation for a moment, deeming that the conman was right and she had no other choice.

"Fine." She agreed reluctantly.

"You kids solve who does what. I'll be in the armchair watching _'The Duchess A'_ —I mean… _'Baby Fights'_ if you need me for anything." He cleared his throat and left the room.

Mabel took the crystal out of her sweater, careful not to touch it, and placed it back into Dipper's vest, wrapping it up and leaving it on the counter. Then, Dipper and she stared into each other's eyes for a while. On the other side, Pacifica eyed the twins curiously. It looked as if they were speaking in some kind of secret twin language, and she couldn't help but smile and think it was funny. Finally, Mabel was the first to talk.

"Alright, you go upstairs and take care of Pacifica while I get some spare clothes and cook something for dinner."

"What!?" Dipper exclaimed in astonishment. "Isn’t it better that…? I mean, you're a girl too and… why can't I do the cooking!?" He blurted out.

"Don't be silly, Dipper. I have no idea of dressing wounds and you have a CPR diploma!" Mabel said matter-of-factly. "Besides, what can you cook, huh? Sandwiches? Boooring! Please, let the arts and crafts master do the kitchen work." She added with a proud smile.

"Well…" Pacifica added in a low voice. "If Mabel doesn't know how to do it then I'd prefer Dipper to do the dressing."

Dipper's eyes bulged out and Mabel laughed triumphantly.

"She agreed! Sorry, bro-bro but I'm gonna go before you process this sentence! Bye!" Mabel yelled as she left the room.

Dipper glanced at Pacifica and sighed.

"Our room is in the attic, it's the only door upstairs." He pointed at the door that led to the living room. "I'll be there in a sec with everything."

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

Pacifica was alone in the twins' attic bedroom. In her eyes, the idea of sharing the room with someone, especially such a small room, was completely unthinkable. However, she found curious how there was a clear difference on which was each twin's side. On what she guessed it was Mabel's side, there were posters of boy bands like Sev'ral Timez on the wall, glitter on the bed and lots of small plush toys. On the other side which had to be Dipper's, there was a painting of a ship on the wall. The bed, instead of having plush toys and glitter, it had paper notes and lots of ink stains. The heiress guessed Dipper either wrote a lot in bed or he chew pens while lying in it.

Pacifica decanted on sitting on Mabel's bed, since she wasn't sure how Dipper would take finding her on his bed. She however regretted it quickly. The bed sheets had several spots with dried sugar and some of it had stuck to her hands. Pacifica mouthed an _'Ew'_ and stood up from that bed, guessing that Mabel often ate there whatever sugary product. She wiped her hand on a clean spot of the bed sheets and resumed reluctantly sitting on the edge of Dipper's bed. Even though there were some ink stains, these were dry and didn't threat to damage her clothes.

The heiress glanced at her shoulder and raised the neck of her dress to have a look at her wound. Then, her eyes bulged out. As she pictured in her mind how the bandages would be applied to her collarbone, Pacifica realized that she would have to take off her short dress and suddenly wished Mabel were who would had to dress her wound. She facepalmed and decided that the sooner she was done with the embarrassment, the better.

Pacifica pulled her short dress over her head, careful not to use her wounded shoulder, and then had a look at herself in the mirror. Her elbows were scrapped and her face was a mess of dirt and makeup, but her hair was surprisingly tidy and she held to that to raise her spirits. She had a look at how much skin she was showing without her dress. The heiress readjusted her bra to make sure she wasn't accidentally showing anything, and frowned. She was still getting used to wear that specific article of clothing. Even with the bra, Pacifica guessed she was showing far too much skin for her own sense of privacy, so she pulled some of her hair over her shoulders to cover her chest. Then she had a look at her leggings and cursed inwardly. She could see her underwear through the thin fabric of the black leggings. Pacifica took a quick survey of the bedroom in search of something to cover herself and decided to use the ink stained sheets. She wrapped herself in them and had a final look at herself in the mirror. Happy with the results and how much she had managed to cover, the heiress smiled and sat cross-legged on the edge of Dipper's bed to wait.

Pacifica heard a knock on the door and she quickly replied.

"Come in. It's your room after all."

"Mabel told me she's lending you one of her sweaters and I also found this transparent tape dispenser, so between the white bandages and this, it will be hard to see that you've—" Dipper raised his gaze from his hands to Pacifica and the tape dispenser, as well as his jaw, fell to the floor. He saw her sitting on his bed, covered from the waist down in his bed sheets, but what caught his attention was the naked skin of her sides and shoulders, and how her chest was covered with her hair, which led Dipper to a very simple conclusion. "Please, tell me you were wearing something under your dress and you're not naked on my bed." He tried to keep his mouth from gaping.

"What!? Of course not!” Pacifica snapped with a surprised face and flushed crimson red. “I'm wearing my leggings and underwear!" She stuck a foot out of the sheets to show him her leggings.

As she moved, Dipper noticed the purple strap going over her shoulder and he realized she was wearing a bra.

"Oh! Uh… Sorry. I thought you were naked because I saw the… um…" The boy facepalmed inwardly and wondered how to tell her that his only female reference was his sister and she didn't have to wear a bra yet. Dipper decided to keep his mouth shut.

Pacifica rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Can we get to the whole dressing the wound thing? This is a little awkward for me."

"Sure, just let me…" He bent over to pick up the tape dispenser but, since he had his eyes glued on the heiress, he accidentally hit his elbow with the bed instead of picking the tape up. "Ah! Ouch! Funny bone!" He complained and rubbed his elbow.

The heiress looked at him for a second and then burst into giggles.

"You're a dork."

Dipper smiled faintly and picked up the tape dispenser, walking up to Pacifica and leaving the first aid kit and all he needed on the bed next to her. He cleared his throat and moved his hand slowly to push away the locks of blonde hair in order to have a better look at the wound. Pacifica looked aside and blushed slightly. On the other hand, Dipper had an inner fight with eyes, who were demanding to look downwards. A fight, he luckily won. Dipper focused his attention on the wound. He remembered there were three holes on her dress, but there were only two small injuries below her collarbones, one at each side of her bra strap. Dipper knew a harpy has four claws, three in one direction and one opposed. He guessed that her bra had luckily stopped both the middle claw and the opposed one.

Pacifica was growing more and more self-conscious at Dipper staring at her for so long and she spoke in an angry tone.

"Earth to Dork! It's getting a little cold here! As you have definitely not failed to notice, I'm almost naked!"

"Huh?" Dipper was snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking that your bra saved you from having two more wounds. Harpies have four claws and—"

"Great!" She interrupted him. "I'll thank puberty later for hitting a little early. Now can we get to the disinfecting part so that I can put something on?"

"Sure!" He quickly replied. "Uh… I kind of need you to lower that strap so that I can clean the wound." He showed her a wet gauze.

"I—um… But don't look!"

Dipper nodded and blushed slightly. As Pacifica lowered the strap to her upper arm and Dipper began cleaning the wound with the gauze. He felt a little awkward and, by how Pacifica squirmed and looked at him, he guessed she felt just the same.

"So… um… the bra is purple." He tried to calm the tense atmosphere by doing some small talk.

"Yeah." Was all Pacifica managed to comment as she wondered why they were talking about her underwear.

"Your dress and your jacket are also purple. Was it a sale or…?"

"Do you really think I go shopping in the sales?" Pacifica raised an eyebrow.

"Right." Dipper facepalmed inwardly. "Then… you like purple?" He asked and Pacifica nodded. "And… you have something else purple or just that?"

"I do, but I'm not showing you." Her cheeks and even her shoulders blushed red.

Dipper didn't give much thought to what she had replied, guessing it would probably be her socks. He had already finished cleaning her wound.

Pacifica sighed and rubbed her wound.

"Well, I don't know why people complain so much about disinfectants. That didn't hurt at all."

"That wasn't the disinfectant, it was just water." Dipper clarified and showed her a wet cotton ball. "This is the disinfectant and you better brace yourself. Grunkle Stan always buys the cheapest on the store so it might sting a little."

Pacifica gulped and clenched the sheets on her thighs. When Dipper pressed the cotton ball on her wound, she felt nothing. A few seconds later, she felt a small stinging sensation which gradually increased. Pacifica began tapping on her thigh in hopes that all would be over soon. It however didn't stop stinging but got worse instead. The heiress' eyes bulged out in disbelief and the tapping on her thigh became frenetic as she opened her mouth to voice the feeling on her collarbone. As she screamed, Dipper jumped back in complete surprise and Pacifica stood from the bed, running around the attic bedroom and letting the cool air ease her burning pain.

Stan heard the cry from downstairs and turned up the volume on the TV.

"Well, if Dipper accidentally kills her, at least she won't be able to sue us."

The burning sensation caused by the disinfectant finally subsided Pacifica stopped running as her facial expression went from relief to complete seriousness. She felt a little too naked and realized that, in her hurry to ease her wound, she had let the bed sheet slide to floor revealing her leggings. The heiress's face contorted in distress and glanced at Dipper. He was blushing, and not precisely looking at her face.

"Dipper!" She squeaked, turning aside, cursing inwardly the thin fabric of her leggings and covering whatever she could with her hands.

"I-I-I wasn't looking at your purple panties!" He blurted out and covered his eyes with his hands, realizing what the article of clothing she hadn't wanted to show him earlier was.

A very angry Pacifica picked up the sheet and covered herself again, sitting back on the edge of his bed.

"You saw nothing." She warned him.

"No." Dipper snorted and tried to hold his laughter. "So… the store didn't sell purple leggings to go with the complete set?" He joked.

Pacifica grabbed his pillow and threw it to him. Since Dipper was covering his eyes with his hands, he didn't see it coming and the pillow struck him right in the face. Dipper chuckled and moved his fingers aside, having first a quick peek to make sure Pacifica wasn't indisposed. He removed his hands and walked back to her.

"Well, let me dress that wound up. I promise this doesn't hurt but… you have to completely remove both straps." Dipper said as he picked up the tape dispenser and the bandages from the bed.

Pacifica rolled her eyes and deemed that she no longer cared one bit. She pushed her hair over her shoulders and when Dipper respectfully raised his gaze to the ceiling, she removed the straps, holding the bra cups on her chest with her arm. She tapped Dipper to let him know that she was ready and extended her free arm to ease the dressing of her wound. Dipper began skillfully applying the bandages, rolling the cloth over her shoulder and under her armpit, and then rolling it a few times under her good arm to make sure the bandages wouldn't move. On the other hand, Pacifica felt completely awkward and uncomfortable. She had never been with so few clothes in front of anybody, let alone a boy. The heiress decided to distract herself by examining Dipper. His hazel eyes were completely focused on the task at hand, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Pacifica thought he looked cute and smiled, feeling just as awkward as before, but a little less uncomfortable.

"Aaaand…" Dipper put the last adhesive tape to the bandages. "There you go. Good as new." He finished with a smile.

Pacifica raised the bra straps to their original spot and tested out the bandage by moving her injured arm. It looked very solid and her wound no longer hurt.

"Thanks, Doctor D." She said playfully and reached for her purple dress.

"Wait, you can't wear that. It's bloodied and dirty." Dipper stopped her and got into the built-in closet. "Mabel told me she was lending you… this sweater." He got back from the closet with a fluffy yellow sweater with a llama on it. "She said it would go good with your hair."

"Really?" Pacifica took the sweater in her hands and realized that it was very soft, fluffy and she knew instantly that it would be very comfortable to wear. "And… what do you think?" She put the sweater in front of her chest as if she were wearing it.

"Oh! Well… yeah, it goes great with you hair." He rubbed the back of his head nervously and then smiled mischievously. "But it doesn't match your underwear at all." He burst into laughter.

"You're the worst!" Pacifica blushed again and that only increased Dipper's laughter. "Speaking of which, I'll need a skirt or something." She commented, peeking under the bed sheets.

"Oh, right. I forgot." He got back into the closet and came out with one of Mabel's spare skirts. "Here. There's a bathroom downstairs if you want to wash the dirt off."

The heiress couldn't help but feel terrible. Back when they were enemies, Pacifica had spread all kind of rumors about the twins in tries to defame them but now, even though the shack resembled a hovel rather than an actual building and it was probably fifteen to twenty times smaller than her manor, the twins had let her stay. Even though in the manor she had her food cooked and her clothes ironed and here they had to do it themselves, the twins had given her clothes and they were going to feed her soon. Pacifica regretted how badly she had treated them and stroked the fluffy sweater in her arms, lowering her gaze and muttering.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. We're friends after all." Dipper shrugged.

"Yeah, friends…" Pacifica sighed. She didn't know why that word had caused her a pain in the chest rather than comfort. The heiress shook her head and stood up. "I better go put this on to the bathroom."

"Oh, you can get dressed here. I'll just wait outside." He offered and turned to leave.

"No, Dipper." Pacifica stopped him and showed him her arms. "I need to wash all this dirt off my arms before putting anything on."

"Right. I'll wait for you here then. Take the sheet to the bathroom if you want."

Pacifica made sure she was well wrapped in the sheet and walked downstairs, taking first a peek into the staircase entryway to make sure no one saw her covered in a sheet. She wondered which one would be the bathroom door. In front of her was apparently the kitchen, to her right the living room and to her left the door to the porch, so she easily deduced that it had to be the red door next to the staircase. Pacifica left her clothes on the edge of the bathtub and turned on the hot water in the sink, rubbing her arms and face to wash them up.

Once all the dirt had been wiped away, Pacifica put on the sweater and felt a sudden instant warmth wherever the fluffy material touched her skin. The heiress hugged herself to enjoy the feeling and then searched for a label that indicated where Mabel had bought this sweater so that she could buy one herself for next winter. She found none so she guessed it was homemade, which grew her respect for the cheerful brunette. She stared at the drawing on the chest of the sweater. If Pacifica had to take a guess, she'd say it was a llama although at first she had thought it was some kind of rabbit-horse Mabel had made up.

Pacifica stared at herself in the mirror and examined her face closely. Luckily she had no bruises or cuts there, but she was wearing no makeup either and the lack of eyeshadow made her almost fail to recognize herself. She then noticed for the first time that she was smiling. Pacifica tried to lower that smile but she didn't manage. She felt like smiling. She felt happy.

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Pacifica? Mabel and I have been waiting you for ten minutes. Everything alright in there?" The voice of Dipper asked.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" Pacifica quickly put on the skirt and did a quick check of her image on the mirror. Her face was clean now but her hair was a little messy. The heiress did her best tidying it with her hands and then opened the bathroom door.

"Wow." Dipper's eyes widened.

"What?" Pacifica asked, worriedly looking at her temporal outfit.

"You look weird without the eyeshadow." Dipper's eyes widened and quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture. "I mean… not bad, but weird."

"Oh!" The heiress giggled, slightly relieved that it was just that. "And you haven't seen me with my bangs combed backwards. I sometimes don't recognize myself in the mirror." She joked.

"Mabel was right. That sweater goes great with your hair."

Pacifica unconsciously caressed her hair with her hand.

"Thanks."

"C'mon. Let's have a look at the harpy's crystal."


	4. Sleepover

Dipper and Pacifica entered the attic bedroom. Mabel was already sat on her bed, her pet pig Waddles on her lap. The moment she saw Pacifica wearing the sweater, her face lit up.

"Oh my gosh! You're wearing it!" She yelled happily at seeing the heiress in a sweater.

"Yeah." Pacifica pulled at the sweater to stare at the llama drawing. "I like it; it's very fluffy. Did your mom knit it? I didn't see any label." As she talked, Dipper sat on his bed and Pacifica sat beside him.

"Nope! I knitted all my sweaters myself." Mabel eyed curiously which bed Pacifica had chosen to sit on, but guessed she didn't want to sit on her bed because of Waddles.

"Really?" Pacifica's eyes widened in disbelief, since she had seen her wearing a lot of different sweaters. "Sounds hard."

"Nah, with a little bit of practice and imagination I can make a sweater a day." Mabel shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm sure you could do it too if you tried."

"Oh, Pacifica is very imaginative." Dipper commented.

"Is she now?" Mabel put on a playful tone. "You seem to know a lot about Pacifica, bro-bro."

"Yeah, we've been talking all day." He shrugged.

"Just talking? I heard a scream earlier." Mabel grinned and began waggling her eyebrows. "What were you two doing alone up here, huh?"

Dipper didn't get the insinuation and raised an eyebrow quizzically, but Pacifica's face blushed terribly and Mabel saw it.

"No way! You two were making out!? That's why Dipper's bed is stripped!" Mabel's mouth opened in a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"What!?" Pacifica squeaked as her blush deepened.

"No, no. The bed is stripped because Pacifica had to use the sheets to cover herself." Dipper quickly explained.

"But… why did she have to cover herself in the sheets?" Mabel tilted her head in confusion.

"Because she was naked." He answered matter-of-factly.

"I wasn't naked!" Pacifica, whose face was now the color of cherries, blurted out. "I still had my bra!"

"Oh! Dipper, you don't know how to unclasp a bra? I can show you!" Mabel chirped happily, completely misunderstanding Pacifica.

"I didn't need to. She simply lowered the shoulder straps." Dipper explained and Pacifica's jaw could've hit the floor if it hadn't been attached to her face.

"I-I-I…" Pacifica babbled, wide-eyed. "You can't be serious. Are you two messing with me!?" She elbowed Dipper in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Dipper rubbed his side. "Of course we are!"

The twins burst into laughter. Pacifica frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling upset at the situation. The door to the attic opened without warning and Stan got in the room.

"You left this in the oven, Pumpkin." He gave Mabel a bowl of cookies. "Pay attention when using the kitchen or one day you'll burn the Shack down."

"S-sorry, Grunkle Stan, I forgot" Mabel wiped the tear of laughter off her cheek and grabbed the bowl.

"Careful, they're very hot." He warned and then had a look at the situation. Dipper and Mabel were red from laughing and Pacifica was red too, but frowning instead. Stan shrugged and decided he wouldn't probably understand it even if he asked. "Come with me, Northwest, while those cookies cool off. Let's get you a mattress." He told Pacifica.

Pacifica jumped up from Dipper's bed and followed him outside the bedroom. As they were going down the staircase, she hissed.

"I've a name, Old Man."

"I also have a name, kid." Stan replied.

Pacifica stopped for a second and then continued following him. She didn't know the layout of the building and the last thing she wanted was getting lost now. She eyed him and sighed.

"Have you called my parents yet, Old—uh… Mr. Pines?" She asked.

"Yeah."

Pacifica raised an eyebrow when she didn't get a more elaborated answer. She waited a second for Stan to continue and then she insisted.

"And what did they say? Are they mad at me?" She asked warily.

"Don't worry about that now." Stan continued walking.

"So they're mad. Well, I'm busted then. I'll spend what's left of my summer vacations in my room staring boringly through the window and all of this because I wanted to know if I did the right thing…" Pacifica lowered her gaze and sighed. "But… what would you know about it anyway."

"I know, kid." Stan sighed this time and stopped walking. "When I was young, my brother was the genius and I was the black sheep of the family. When I was seventeenth I was kicked out of my house and my parents never wanted to know anything of me again. Actually, I think they never did… Trust me, I know the feeling."

"Oh…" Pacifica looked at him in the eyes to make sure he wasn't lying to her, because Dipper had told her he was a conman, but the heiress decided that he was sincere. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't apologize, kid. It wasn't you who kicked me." Stan waved his hand dismissively. "But, if you ever get in… you know, trouble at home or something, know that you are always welcomed here." He reassured the girl.

"Thanks, Stan." Pacifica smiled and he reciprocated the smile.

Stan opened a door that was painted the same way the corridor walls were and they got inside a dark room.

"I used to have my wax museum here but the kids butchered all the figures one night saying they were possessed or something." He explained and Pacifica had a quick look around herself as if expecting a wax figure to attack her. "Now we store stuff here. It's easier than carry it up to the attic.

Pacifica nodded and saw several objects that brought memories to her mind, like dancing tiles piled up in a corner from the party at the Shack a month ago. There were also some that she didn't know, like a rolled up blue carpet with the recycling symbol on it. Stan walked behind a closet and picked up a mattress and some sheets.

"Here, you carry the sheets and I carry the mattress." He handled her the sheets.

"Where is my room?" Pacifica asked.

"Your room?" Stan raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a hotel. You're sleeping with the twins."

"What?! I can't sleep with them! What if one of them snores?" The heiress complained.

"Well, you can either take the risk with them or you can sleep with me, but I'm definitely going to snore." He shrugged. Pacifica puffed out her cheeks and Stan laughed. "That face might usually work for you but believe me, I can't make a room magically appear in the Shack. Only Soos on rare occasions can."

"Fine." Pacifica groaned.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

They came back into the twins' shared bedroom. Dipper's bed had its sheets again and Dipper was lying on it, reading a book. On the other bed Mabel was knitting a new sky blue sweater.

"There you go." Stan leaned the mattress on the wall next to the door and then he gestured to the twins. "When you kids go to sleep help her with the mattress and the bed sheets." He instructed and left to watch his favorite TV show.

Dipper put aside his book and grabbed his vest.

"C'mon, let's have a look at the crystal."

"Not so fast, Dipper." Mabel stopped his hand. "First off, tell me all the details of your adventure. It's not fair that you have a look at that crystal while I have no idea what it is!"

"Right, sorry." Dipper apologized.

"But, while you’re at it, we'll deal with these cookies! They have probably cooled off enough!" Mabel placed the bowl on her lap. "C'mon, sit with me, Pacifica!" She beckoned the heiress.

"I—Um..." She hesitated. "I would rather sit on Dipper's bed."

"Why? Waddles is downstairs." Mabel said matter-of-factly.

"It's not the pig, Mabel. You bed is a little… sticky." She explained.

Mabel looked at her quizzically and then patted her sheets.

"Well, now that you mention it…"

"I told you not to eat in bed." Dipper reminded her with a knowing smile.

"I know, but there's nothing like eating while lying in bed!" Mabel countered with a grin.

"And…" Pacifica sat on Dipper's bed. "…I wouldn't want to stain the sweater. It's not mine after all."

"Oh, but you can keep it!" Mabel chirped happily. "I can make more! Look, I was making this one to cheer me up when it's cloudy!" The cheerful brunette held out the sweater she had been knitting before. It was sky blue with a puffy cloud in the chest.

"You could sell those." Pacifica suggested.

Mabel gasped and held the sweater protectively.

"Nuh-huh. I love every single one of my sweaters! I'm not selling them."

Pacifica stared at the sweater Mabel had given her and smiled.

"Thanks for giving me this one then."

"I'm glad you like it!" The cheerful brunette chirped happily. "You wanna try some of these cookies? I bake them myself."

The heiress eyed the cookies in the bowl on Mabel's lap. Each cookie had plenty of chocolate tips, making Pacifica' mouth to water but she had to decline the offer.

"I can't. My parents don't allow me go off my diet and I've stay in shape."

Dipper rolled his eyes and sighed. He still couldn't understand that.

"And what shape is that, a noodle?"

Pacifica felt offended at his comment and shot him a glare, causing Dipper to back off.

"What my dumb brother is trying to say…" Mabel glared at Dipper too and he felt cornered all of a sudden. "…is that you're fine and you're not gonna become a sumo wrestler overnight for eating a few cookies."

"Yeah!" Dipper's voice broke. "And you look great with those…" He gestured to her chest but bit his tongue before it said anything else. "Um… you have a nice slim figure. Besides, your parents aren't here."

"Just eat all you want." Mabel added. "Look at me! I eat like twenty or thirty of these every day and I'm not fat."

Dipper's eyes bulged out and noted mentally to have a look at his sister's diet.

"Let's not exaggerate either, Mabel. Pacifica and you are not the same. You have a very active behavior and burn all the fats in…"

As Dipper began explaining to his sister how her body used what she ate and Mabel ignored him, Pacifica analyzed very careful what she had just heard from Dipper's mouth. _'He thinks I have a nice figure?'_ She thought and zoned out, focusing her gaze on how Dipper made gestures with his hands to explain himself. The heiress thought he looked cute and sighed dreamily. She was snapped out of her daydreaming by a cookie bowl nudging her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, Dipper. I'll reduce the daily intake of cookies to less than a dozen. Take one, Paz-Paz!"

"Paz-Paz?" The heiress raised an eyebrow.

"I call Dipper 'bro-bro' and you're 'Paz-Paz'!" She chirped happily. "Now take one!"

"Alright, alright." Pacifica took a cookie and eyed it warily. The heiress didn't know what to expect of it, considering Mabel had cooked the cookies.

"C'mon, Dipper! Tell me, tell me! Did you guys meet a hot elf or something in your adventure? I want _ALL_ the details!"

Dipper rolled his eyes and began telling the events that had taken place that day, omitting some details about Pacifica's personal life he guessed the heiress didn't want anyone to know. In the meantime, Mabel was listening and already on her third cookie. Pacifica guessed that the sooner the better and gave a small bite to her own cookie expecting the worst. However, a sudden sweet flavor filled her mouth and she couldn't help but moan. Dipper stopped halfway through the story and the twins eyed her curiously.

"Was that me?" Pacifica asked, a little surprised, and both twins nodded. "Sorry, I thought these little chocolate tips would be bitter but they're sweet!" The heiress quickly devoured the remaining of her cookie.

"You don't have chocolate in the manor?" Mabel tilted her head and looked at the heiress quizzically.

"We have the best imported European chocolate." Pacifica said proudly. "But it's bitter, without milk or sugar. It's the one my parents like."

Mabel smiled and placed the cookie bowl on Pacifica's lap.

"Here, eat all you want. I can make more."

"Thanks." Pacifica smiled broadly and gladly took another cookie.

The twins exchanged a look and smiled warmly at how easy it had seemed to make the heiress happy. Dipper continued telling the story, causing Mabel to giggle at some points until he got to the part where they arrived at the Shack.

"I honestly don't know how we did it, but the harpy somehow lost her balance and crashed on the ground with us." Dipper commented while cupping his chin, deep in thought.

"Yeah." Pacifica shuddered, remembering the terrible vertigo sensation she had experienced. "The first time I head-butted her, she didn't even flinch. The second one did the trick though, but I don't know why."

Dipper stared at her intently, trying to find out what had happened. Pacifica felt a little self-conscious at his deep stare and wished she had some makeup on.

"Of course!" He suddenly yelled. "Are those earrings pure silver?"

Pacifica touched her hoops earrings and smiled smugly.

"Pffft, of course they are."

"That's it!" Dipper opened his journal and flipped pages until he reached the index of the bestiary section. "Cursed ones, hybrids, necrophages, relicts, specters and vampires are very sensitive to silver, and the harpy is in the hybrids section!" He read aloud and then began tapping his chin. "This would go better in each category's page under weaknesses instead of only in the index. I'll fix that tomorrow. Anyway, let's have a look at that crystal." Dipper grabbed his vest and opened it on his lap, revealing the blue crystal. "If my theory is correct, harpies use dreams to power up their crystals. When a predator goes into their nest, they feel attracted to the crystal and touch it. Then, the crystal sort of vibrates and sends a distress signal to any harpy nearby. However, it's no longer attached to the mountain wall so if I do this…" He extended his hand to touch it.

"Wait!" Pacifica stopped him. "You sure that's a good idea? I'm not looking forwards to be lifted in the air again anytime soon."

"Relax." Dipper said calmly and held the crystal in his bare hand. "See? It's not vibrating because it's not attached to the wall. It just glows a little. No harpy is going to come looking for it."

"I see something in it." Mabel commented, narrowing her eyes and leaning closer.

"Yes… There's some sort of shapes or something. It has to be the dream stored in it." Dipper raised the crystal and rubbed it with his thumbs to fuel the glow.

"Wait, I know that garden…" Pacifica leaned closer too.

Inside the crystal appeared the image of Pacifica wearing a long purple dress with black puffy shoulder sleeves smiling at the dreamer. The image moved as the dreamer walked with his eyes fixed on the heiress. It suddenly shook violently and Pacifica began to laugh. The dreamer had bumped into a column. Then it began to loop again from the start.

"That wasn't a dream." Dipper said wide-eyed. "That was me at the party!"

"Maybe you dreamed about that day." Pacifica suggested and rubbed the crystal to see it again.

"Oh my gosh, Dipper." Mabel said with a grin. "Did you really bump into a column because you couldn't take your eyes off Pacifica?"

Dipper was too bewildered to hear his sister's remark.

"Of all people in town and of all the crystals that probably were in that mountain, I go and take my own dream!" He turned to Pacifica. "And precisely one where you make an appearance! What are the odds?"

"That has to be destiny!" Mabel chirped happily.

"Mabel, you know I don't believe in destiny or superstition in general." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what it was, but I'd buy lottery if I were you." Pacifica joked and the twins giggled. "Or perhaps that mountain is filled with your dreams because the harpies are too lazy to fly for ten minutes more and reach town."

"Maybe…" Dipper pondered about it and noted mentally to search for some kind of dream protection. "But it's curious that I picked up a dream where you appear."

"C'mon Dipper," Pacifica put on a playful smile. "I'm not gonna get mad if you admit you dream about me every day."

Dipper blushed and was about to counter but Mabel stepped in quicker.

"Nah, Dipper only dreams about Wendy." She commented in a playful tone.

"I don't dream about anyone!" He blurted out and blushed.

Both girls burst into giggles but Pacifica noted mentally that priceless information and began to wonder how she could compete with the redhead.

The twins and Pacifica continued talking for a while, exchanging questions to know each other better. Then, Pacifica yawned all of a sudden and Dipper did a quick check on the clock.

"We should better go to sleep." He commented.

"What time is it?" Mabel asked.

"A few minutes past midnight."

"What!?" Pacifica's eyes widened and glanced at the attic door. "And you are allowed to be up this late?"

"Yeah, Stan doesn't mind." Mabel shrugged. "Let's get your mattress ready. What do you think, Dipper? Between our beds or by the door?"

"Definitely between our beds." Dipper nodded. "We don't want to step on our guest if we have to go to the bathroom or something during the night."

"Alright. C'mon, give me a hand here."

"Why don't you call the servants?" Pacifica asked.

"No servants, remember?" Dipper replied.

"What about Jorge?"

"Jorge?" Mabel tilted her head in confusion.

"That big guy with a question mark on his t-shirt."

"Oh, but that's Soos." Dipper clarified. "He's not a servant, he's a friend who works here." He walked up to the mattress lying on the wall and tried to lift it, failing after a few tugs. "Um… Mabel, can you give me a hand here?"

"Sure thing, muscle man." The cheerful brunette teased and Dipper rolled his eyes.

Between both twins they easily placed the mattress between the beds and put the sheets on top of it. Mabel lent Pacifica one of her nightshirts and in a few minutes everyone was on their own bed ready to go to sleep.

"Night, Paz-Paz. Night, bro-bro."

"Night, Pacifica. Night, Mabel."

"Night, Mabel. Night, Dork."

Dipper smiled and Mabel giggled in the dark.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

Time passed and the moon rose in the sky. Dipper couldn't sleep. At this hour he usually was reading in his Journal, but he couldn't simply turn on his reading light when they had a guest sleeping in the room. Mabel was used to the small light, but Pacifica would probably have a problem with it. Dipper rolled on his bed and faced both Mabel and Pacifica. Mabel was soundly asleep but Pacifica was constantly changing positions on her mattress.

"You can't sleep?" Dipper whispered.

"I'm trying, but this old terrible mattress insists on giving me a wonderful massage on my back." The heiress replied sarcastically.

Dipper chuckled and hesitated for a few seconds.

"Well… my mattress is alright and this bed is… big enough for both of us."

"I'm not getting in your bed." Pacifica quickly replied and, although the night's darkness hid her blush, it didn't hid Dipper's offended face. "I mean… If your sister sees us she won't shut her mouth about it!"

"Whatever you say. Enjoy your back massage." Dipper shrugged and rolled onto his other side to face the wall.

Two minutes later Pacifica reluctantly climbed into Dipper's bed. He rolled to face her with a knowing smile.

"Shut up and not a word about this to anyone." She grumbled.

Dipper chuckled and handled her some of the bed sheets. The heiress gladly covered herself, considering the night was a bit chilly, and accidentally brushed Dipper's feet with hers. Dipper gave a yelp of surprise and backed off.

"Your feet are ice cold!" He hissed.

"It's a circulatory problem!" She hissed back. "My feet and hands get cold when I'm lying down. It's nothing serious though, but I have an electric blanket in the manor for chilly nights."

"Nothing serious?" He whispered in disbelief. "You'll get a cold from that! C'mere, my feet are warm." Dipper snuggled closer and placed his feet on top of hers.

"Thanks." Pacifica muttered and lowered her face to hide it under her bangs. She wasn't sure the room was dark enough to hide her current blush.

When her cheeks stopped burning and her feet were already warm, she raised her gaze and stared into Dipper's hazel eyes with her blue ones. Pacifica had never been insecure about anything, but those eyes made her nervous. She stared into them for long, trying to find answers, but she found none. All she saw in those eyes was kindness and tenderness which caused her to begin feeling that pleasurable tingling inside her chest. Pacifica smiled and found the answer she had come looking for that morning to the Shack. She was in love. The heiress sighed happily and closed her eyes, falling deeply asleep.

Dipper noticed how she opened her mouth slightly and how her face rested completely on the pillow. Her chest began rising and falling rhythmically and he guessed she had fallen asleep. Dipper thought she looked cute while sleeping, but there was a lock of blonde hair across her cheek. The boy extended his hand and pushed it away gently so to avoid waking her up. Then, Dipper sniffed the air a few times. There was a smell in the air, like fresh flowers. He soon realized that it was Pacifica's lilacs shampoo and the smell was coming out of her hair. Dipper had to admit that she had good taste for shampoos and, since she was sleeping now, he seized the opportunity to touch her hair again. Dipper began stroking the hair lying between them on the bed and wondered how she kept it so full and silky. Pacifica felt the soft pulls of her hair and mumbled in her sleep, snuggling closer and grabbing Dipper's forearm to make him stop.

"Well, there goes my fun. And I can't move now." He muttered and sighed.

Even though Dipper couldn't move anymore without accidentally waking her up, he couldn't deny either that he liked the feeling of her hand. A month ago he would have never got so close to Pacifica Northwest, let alone share a bed with her or letting her hand touch his forearm, but many things had changed in this past month. Dipper had learned that Pacifica was determined, a teaser, funny and unfortunately a sad girl. Dipper couldn't stand seeing someone being punished for doing the right thing and then feeling sad about it, so he would gladly be her friend. As those thoughts came into his mind, he stared at Pacifica's face. She looked very calm and relaxed while sleeping, but Dipper would love that she opened her eyes just so that he could see those deep blue eyes sparkling again. Dipper felt a warm feeling in his chest and instinctively snuggled closed to the heiress, smiling stupidly.

Then he immediately backed off wide-eyed and looked at Pacifica with complete different eyes.

"Uh-Oh… C'mon, not again." He groaned as he realized he wasn't going to stop thinking about his new crush all night long.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

Far away from Gravity Falls, the party the Northwest had attended to had ended a few hours ago and Preston and Priscilla were staying in a luxury hotel for the night. They would go back to the manor the next day after lunch.

Preston was as usual sitting in an armchair, an apple cider glass in his hand and staring at it as if it were the most entrancing thing in the world. On the other hand, Priscilla was staring at herself in the mirror. She was brushing her hair endlessly, since if she didn't do that before going to sleep her hair tangled.

The news coming from Gravity Falls had angered the Northwest patriarch. Firstly, Pacifica's tennis instructor had called telling him that his daughter hadn't gone to class. When he had called to the manor, none of the butlers had any idea of where she was. Completely filled with worry and about to call the police, another call came but this time it was from that UFO fanatic turned conman, which apparently was a relative of the boy who knew all the dirty secrets of the past of the Northwest family, saying that his daughter was in that hovel of a tourist trap.

A hand on his shoulder snapped him from his thoughts.

"Are you still thinking about Pacifica?" Priscilla asked and he nodded. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. We found her. She's safe."

"I know." Preston sighed. "And I'm glad nothing happened to her, but I can't stop thinking of the bigger picture."

Priscilla raised an eyebrow in puzzlement and put the brush in a drawer.

"What bigger picture? Pacifica is just staying overnight with a few friends. True, that hovel isn't the most luxurious place but I'm certain she made sure nobody saw her getting in, so no harm is done to the family reputation."

"The worry and the sudden relief made you forget where the original problem was, Priscilla. Why did Pacifica skip tennis class?" Preston began tapping the apple cider glass. "She knows how important it is for her to learn tennis. Every big business deal is either arranged in tennis or in golf and, although she's great at mini-golf, she definitely needs to perfect her tennis skills." He paused for a second. "Do you think she skipped tennis to go play with those Pines twins?"

"Maybe." Priscilla pondered about it. "We'll have to ask her tomorrow."

"Because if she did," Preston continued with a frown. "it means she has disobeyed us to go play with those kids, and she had never done that before." He sighed. "Those two twins are a bad influence for her. Especially that boy. She mustn't see them again."

"You're exaggerating." Priscilla rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. "It's probably just a phase."

"No." Preston shook his head. "When we were her age we never went through such phases."

"Well, times change. Nowadays a kid with internet knows more than a bachelor back in our time. It's natural. You'll see how nothing happens." Priscilla shrugged.

"And what if something happens?" Preston's eyes widened. "No, no. I already made my mind. She is our only daughter and I'm not taking any chances. Pacifica will go to tennis, she'll be the first of her class in school and one day she'll lead the company without any trouble, and she has to stop seeing the twins to do so."

"Let's assume for a second that you're right and she has befriended the twins." Priscilla acted as the voice of reason. "Pacifica isn't going to like that you forbid her from seeing her friends. She'll hate you for that. Maybe I should talk to her instead and—"

"No." Preston quickly stepped in. "It's my company and it's my responsibility. Pacifica hating me in exchange for a future life full of opportunities is a risk I'm willing to take. I'm just choosing the lesser evil."


	5. Farewell

Mabel was as usual the first waking up in the morning. She yawned and stretched herself in bed. Then she took a survey of the bedroom, realizing that Pacifica’s mattress was empty and she was on Dipper’s bed. Mabel’s face lit up and quickly seized the camera she had under her bed, walking up to Dipper’s bed and pondering about the possibilities.

They were both lying on their sides, facing each other and sleeping with smiles on their faces. Dipper’s hand was grasping a lock of Pacifica’s hair and she had her hand resting on top of his.

“Not bad, not bad.” Mabel murmured. “It could be better though. Let’s see…” She grabbed Pacifica’s hand and moved it from Dipper’s forearm to his cheek. “That goes there and this goes…” She grabbed now Dipper’s hand and tried to fit it on Pacifica’s breast, but her upper arms prevented Mabel from doing so. “Well, to the butt then.” The cheerful brunette shrugged and placed Dipper’s hand on Pacifica’s backside. “Perfect!”

Pacifica woke up the moment she felt something pulling at her hair. Her eyes opened a little, her head still drowsy, and saw someone moving Dipper’s hand away from her hair. Then, she felt it on her rear and heard behind herself “Haha! Blackmail!” along with a click. The heiress eyes shot open and rolled onto her other side.

“Mabel, what are you doing?” Pacifica asked as her eyes bulged out, seeing how the cheerful brunette held an instant camera which was producing a picture.

“No, Paz-Paz. The real question is what were _you two_ doing!” Mabel giggled and showed her the photo she had just taken.

Pacifica flushed on the spot.

“Gimme that!” Her hand dashed to snatch the picture, but her feet were entangled with Dipper’s and failed to reach it.

“Nuh-huh! You’ll tear it to pieces and I want to place it in my scrapbook!” Mabel yelled and ran out of the bedroom.

Pacifica tried to chase her but her feet were still trapped in between Dipper’s. The heiress grabbed his t-shirt and shook him.

“Dipper! Wake up!”

Dipper moaned softly and opened his eyes, suddenly remembering that he had shared a bed with Pacifica. He displayed a silly face of satisfaction and wished that he could just hug her and go back to sleep with Pacifica wrapped in his arms.

“Quit the silly face!” The heiress snapped. “Your creepy sister has just taken a picture of us and you appear in it grabbing my butt!”

“B-but…” His eyes bulged out. “I d-didn’t t-touch you!”

“I know.” Pacifica rolled her eyes. “She moved your hands while you were sleeping.”

“Oh.” Dipper sighed in relief, although it didn’t last for long. “Wait, she took a picture you said? Oh my gosh, we have to get that picture! I know from experience that she’s so gonna tease us for years about it!”

“That’s what I was saying!” Pacifica groaned.

“Yeah, sorry. Hmm… we can’t simply catch her, Mabel runs like a hare. Perhaps we could trick her…” Dipper began tapping his chin in deep thought while eyeing Pacifica. Then, he realized for the first time that her legs were bare under the nightshirt, which could only mean one thing. Dipper blushed and quickly raised his gaze back to her face, feeling completely self-conscious about where his hand had been a few seconds ago. “I—uh… G-get dressed and m-meet me downstairs in the kitchen. I’ve a plan.” He babbled and quickly stood up from bed.

“Oh. Um… alright.” Pacifica eyed him curiously without a clue of what had just happened to Dipper.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

"Grunkle Staaaaaaaaaaan!" Mabel burst into the living room yelling. "Come to see this! I need witnesses in case someone decides to erase my memory!" She looked left and right without finding the Grunkle.

Pacifica entered the room that moment from the gift shop door.

"Mabel!"

Mabel turned to Pacifica and walked backwards towards the staircase entryway.

“Want this, Paz?” She waved the picture and displayed a playful grin.

“Yes, and I’m willing to trade you that picture.” Pacifica stood in the doorframe without getting any closer.

“Oh, yeah? And what will you give me?” Mabel did a quick check of the entryway to make sure Dipper wasn’t going to jump at her from behind.

“A slice of ham.”

Mabel stood bewildered for a second and then giggled.

“C’mon, really?”

“Yup, come to the gift shop and you’ll see.”

Pacifica walked through the gift shop door and Mabel followed her warily, smelling a trap. On the end of the room near the counter Dipper was standing with Waddles in his arms. Mabel snickered and put her fists in her waist defiantly.

“That’s the best you two came up with? Dipper would never hurt Waddles over a picture.”

“Who said anything about harming the pig?” Pacifica asked and fished out a slice of ham from her sweater. “We’re just gonna feed him.”

“Hmm… Okay. I still don’t see how is that gonna make me give you the picture.” Mabel shrugged.

“What’s your opinion on cannibalism, Mabel?” Dipper asked with a mischievous smile.

“It’s bad!” Mabel quickly replied. “What kind of question is that!?”

“Well, that’s ham over there and ham comes for pigs.” Dipper pointed at the slice Pacifica had in her hand.

Mabel gasped and narrowed her eyes.

“You wouldn’t!”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Dipper shrugged.

“But I would.” Pacifica smirked and moved her hand holding the ham slice closer to the pig. She put on a fake innocent voice as Waddles wiggled in Dipper’s arms in an attempt to get the food. “He looks soooo hungry I can’t help myself.”

“Fine!” Mabel sighed and walked up to them, placing the picture on the counter. “Here’s your dumb photo. Now give me that!” She snatched the ham out of Pacifica’s hands and ate it. She then took Waddles from Dipper’s arms into hers. “You hungry big boy? I’m gonna make you a delicious breakfast!” She said as she left back to the living room with the pig in her arms.

Pacifica held the picture in her hands and Dipper had a quick peek of it over her shoulder. He felt his cheeks burning at the picture and he coughed in his fist.

“We should… burn it or something. Mabel will probably put it back together if we tear it to pieces.”

“Don’t worry.” Pacifica hid the picture in her sweater. “I’ll take care of it when I’m home.” She reassured and then smiled. _‘Or not. I don’t have any other pictures of him after all.’_

Her stomach growled so loudly that even Dipper heard it.

“Was that you?” He asked wide-eyed.

“Maybe.” She blushed in embarrassment. “So… you guys have breakfast here or just the pig gets to eat?”

Dipper chuckled and beckoned her to follow him to the kitchen.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

Mabel had again prepared some pancakes for breakfast. The cheerful brunette was hugging the pig and having a happy conversation with Dipper and Pacifica. However, where the twins were easily cutting the pancakes with their forks and shoving the pieces into their mouths, Pacifica was warily poking her pancakes with the fork.

“Something wrong with your pancakes, Pacifica?” Mabel asked with the mouth full.

“No, it’s just that I honestly don’t eat these like… ever.” Pacifica gave her a lopsided smile.

“What do you eat at the manor for breakfast then?” She asked curiously.

“Hmm…” Pacifica raised her gaze to the ceiling while thinking of her average breakfast. “A glass of orange juice, toasts with marmalade and a bowl of milk with cereals. Depending on the day, bacon and eggs too.” She listed with her fingers.

“Which, by what you told us yesterday, I guess it’s all sugar free?” Dipper raised an eyebrow and Pacifica nodded. “Mabel, do we have any syrup left?”

Mabel gasped and stood up.

“Oh, I like the way you think, bro-bro!” She ran up to the kitchen cupboards and fished out a syrup bottle. “Look, Pacifica! This is how it works: You have to grab the syrup like this and pour it on your pancakes like there’s no tomorrow!” She explained while covering her pancakes entirely in syrup.

“Aaaand no. That’s gross.” Dipper snatched the bottle from Mabel’s hands and handled it to Pacifica. “Just drop a little on the pancake and give it a try.”

Pacifica held the syrup upside down over her pancakes but nothing came out of the bottle.

“I think it’s broken or something.”

“Try giving it a squeeze.” Dipper suggested.

Pacifica did as told and the bottle immediately made a loud _SPURT_ , releasing a drop of syrup on her pancakes. The heiress blushed at the sound and the twins giggled.

“I’m not sure I wanna do that again.” Pacifica left the bottle on the table and put a piece of pancake with syrup in her mouth, humming appreciatively at the flavor. “This tastes great though. I’ll make sure the chef at the manor learns the recipe. I wanna try this with marmalade instead.”

Grunkle Stan entered the kitchen.

"Dipper, come with me."

Dipper was left agape with the fork halfway to his mouth.

"Now? Why?"

"Yesterday came a taxidermist asking for some stuffed animals he apparently _'misplaced'_." Stan explained doing air quotes. "I got rid of him but just in case he comes back I have decided to burn the stuffed animals I _'accidentally found'_ in this _'opened'_ garage that definitely isn’t his." Stan kept air quoting every lie. Dipper and Mabel already knew what Stan understood by legal actions and they rolled their eyes, but for Pacifica that was all new and she stared agape at the Grunkle. “Soos has already piled the stuffed animals in the backyard and I need you to chop some firewood to burn the evidence—I mean… stuff.”

“Why can’t Mabel do it? It’s always me who was to chop the firewood.” Dipper groaned.

“Because you’re the boy. It’s as simple as that.” Stan concluded plainly.

“Haha! Sexism!” Mabel laughed.

“Now go chop that firewood.”

Dipper sighed and reluctantly left the kitchen and his half-eaten breakfast.

“By the way,” Stan turned to the heiress. “You parents want you back by noon. I’ll take you to the manor in the car a quarter before midday.” He said and Pacifica nodded. “If any of you kids need me I’ll be in the basement making sure Ford does what I asked him.”

The two girls were left alone in the kitchen. Mabel was idly petting Waddles when she noticed how Pacifica sighed heavily.

“Don’t be sad, Paz-Paz! You still have a few hours left here with us and I’m sure you can come back anytime!” She cheered.

Pacifica smiled faintly and sighed again but for a complete different reason now.

“Mabel, I’ve to tell you something.” She began to say but her tongue got stuck in her palate. She wasn’t used to say what she was about to say. “I’m… sorry for treating you so badly this summer. I’ve been very mean to both of you, but especially to you.” She made a short pause and began nervously playing with her hair. “I really envy you. You’re on a parents free summer vacation where you can do anything you like. You never cared what people could say or think about you and… you have a brother to talk to and play with.” The heiress sighed. “You have everything I always wanted but couldn’t buy with my money.”

Mabel stared at her for a while and then stood up.

“Wanna see something neat? C’mon.”

The cheerful brunette grabbed a bowl with even more cookies and seized the sleeve of Pacifica’s sweater, pulling her out of the room. The heiress saw a blur of rooms and corridors until they ended up in a room with a blue couch and glass pyramids on shelves. Mabel sat on her knees on the sofa, staring through the window behind it.

“Sit next to me and look.”

Pacifica did as told and looked through the glass. They could see the backyard from there, but apart from a stump there was nothing else.

“What are we looking at?”

“Wait for it.” Mabel grinned and offered her the cookie bowl.

Pacifica gladly took a few cookies and left them on the back of the couch, nibbling one while staring at the stump.

Two minutes later Dipper appeared in the backyard carrying so many wood logs in his arms that the girls couldn’t see his face. Dipper dropped them near the stump and picked one up, placing it on top of the stump. He raised an axe over his head and struck the log, managing to dig the blade halfway into the log. Dipper pulled the axe free holding the log with his foot and then swung again, splitting the log in two. He picked up a new log and repeated the process.

Mabel and Pacifica stayed there watching the oblivious boy making firewood. After the third log, Dipper huffed and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. Then, he took off his t-shirt to deal with the summer heat better and continued axing logs.

Pacifica’s eyes bulged out and drank in the sight. Sweat covered the shirtless boy’s chest, giving his body a shine under the sunlight, and every swing of the axe caused the small muscles in Dipper’s arms and chest to bulge. The heiress’ jaw dropped and a half-nibbled cookie fell from her mouth onto the couch. Mabel raised her hands to her mouth and muffled a giggle at Pacifica’s reaction.

After a few minutes of spying Wendy poked her head around the door.

“Oh, here you are! Mabel, do you know where the keys of the gift shop are? It’s about time to open and I can’t find them anywhere!”

“Sure! I’ll go get them.” Mabel chirped and ran out of the room.

Wendy then noticed how Pacifica was still dumbfounded and looking through the glass.

“What are you looking at?” She walked up to her.

Pacifica noticed for the first time that instead of having a brunette beside her she had a redhead now.

”N-nothing!” She stammered and blushed.

Wendy saw a shirtless and oblivious Dipper through the glass.

“Oh, wow. Dipper is such a show off.”  She couldn’t help but chuckle. “By the way… He likes commenting old low-budget movies and playing videogames.”

Pacifica raised her head and looked at the redhead lumberjack defiantly.

“Why are you telling me that?”

"Because I see you a little lost, dude. And I have to take care of my twins." She smiled.

"He likes you." The heiress muttered.

"I know. I had to reject him a couple of weeks ago."

Pacifica eyes widened as if Wendy had just told her she grabbed knifes by the blade.

"Why would you do that?"

"Mainly because of age difference, but also because I didn't want to ruin our friendship." The redhead lumberjack shrugged.

“Mhm…” Pacifica inwardly sighed in relief now that Wendy was no longer considered competition, but she began to ponder what Wendy had just said. Did she want Dipper as a friend or as a lover?

“How’s your shoulder?” Wendy snapped the heiress out of her thoughts.

“Good.” Pacifica put on a playful smile. “You can poke it if you don’t believe me.” 

“No need,” Wendy chuckled again. “I believe you.”

Mabel burst into the room with a pair of keys in her hand.

“Got them! Let’s open the gift shop!” She chirped happily.

“You coming?” Wendy asked to the heiress.

“Um…” She took one final glance through the window. Dipper had changed positions and now the only thing Pacifica could see was his bare back, which in her opinion didn’t disappoint at all. “Y-yes. C’mon.” The heiress shook her head and decided that she had blushed enough for the day.

**:: ::**

* * *

**:: ::**

It was almost noon. Stan had managed to get Ford to clean Pacifica’s clothes with one of his inventions, completely removing the blood and the dirt without having to wet the fabric, so Pacifica was again in her usual outfit but carrying a folded up sweater under her arm. She only lacked the makeup, but she had broad happy smile on her face to compensate.

Stan got in the car to start it. In the meantime, Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica were standing near it. Then, Mabel chirped all of a sudden.

“Whoops! I have to uh… feed Waddles again! Bye Pacifica!” She quickly waved at the heiress and then leaned closer to her brother. “Here’s your chance! Don’t mess it up!” She whispered and shoved Dipper in Pacifica’s direction, running back into the Shack afterwards.

Dipper stumbled and regained his balance right in front of Pacifica, who looked at him in amusement. He began rubbing his arm nervously.

“I hope you enjoyed the… uh… sleepover and all that.” Dipper mumbled, failing completely to keep eye contact.

“Yeah, it was fun.” She replied with a smile. “Well… see ya.” Pacifica began walking towards the car.

Dipper stood still as a statue, watching how she walked away. He had thought it over and over again through past night and this whole morning, and he had decided that it wasn’t going to work. It was an impossible love. They were too different, he was certain that her father hated him and Dipper wasn’t too sure of his own feelings, but his main issue was the lack time. Dipper knew he would have to go back to Piedmont in a month, and he preferred to leave a friend in Gravity Falls rather than a broken heart. Perhaps he could call her once a week and maybe next summer—

“Oh, what the heck am I thinking?” Dipper muttered and shook his head. “Pacifica! Wait!”

Pacifica stopped and turned on her heels.

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking that um…” Dipper felt his palms sweating buckets, his throat becoming dry and his tongue getting stuck all of a sudden. He realized this was the first time he was asking someone out. “M-maybe if… if you’re not too b-busy this um… week we c-could… hang out… someday?”

Pacifica walked back up to him and smiled.

“Pick me up this Friday and we’ll have lunch somewhere. And…” She leaned closer and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “…thanks for everything, Dork.”

Dipper’s face lit up and he raised a hand to the spot she had kissed, deciding that very moment that he was not going to wash that cheek ever again in his life. Then, his legs wobbled and he fell backwards on the ground, causing a small cloud of dust. Pacifica looked at him curiously and was about to ask if he was okay when Dipper pumped both his fists in the air and yelled jubilantly “YES!”

The heiress giggled but both kids were snapped out of their daydreaming by Stan.

“Hey kids! Enough with the goodbyes! She’s not leaving to the war!” He grumbled from inside the car.

Pacifica got in the backseat of the red Cadillac and glanced through the car window. Dipper was still lying on the ground with a silly face and she couldn’t help but snicker.

As Stan drove towards the manor, Pacifica fished out the picture Mabel had taken earlier that morning and sighed happily. She hid it in her jacket pocket and hugged the fluffy llama sweater in her arms while she thought about all that had happened in the last two days. Pacifica had completely disobeyed her parents, she had almost been killed by a mythological creature, she had worn someone else’s clothes and, most importantly, she had fallen in love.

A month ago Pacifica wouldn't have even considered half of these experiences, but now that she had gone through them, she could only feel happy about it. She had found her _grain of truth_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is not over. It continues in The Lesser Evil.


End file.
